


the superhero game

by Nyame



Series: Legacy (or the Jason Todd Peggy Sue AU No One Asked For) [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman Beyond, DCU (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types, Teen Titans - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: (Or was), Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Cassandra Cain is Batgirl, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Epic, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Jason Todd is Batman, Jason Todd is Not Red Hood, Romance, Tim Drake is Robin, Time Travel, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:28:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 33
Words: 190,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25260892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyame/pseuds/Nyame
Summary: After dying of cancer, involuntarily traveling back to 2010, and coming back from the dead for the nth time, Jason Todd is fully reunited with a past version of his family and ready and willing to move on with his life.However, when an unexpected development throws the entire superhero world on its head, he must put those plans on hold. Directly affected by this seemingly miraculous event, Jason is forced to confront the one question that has plagued his mind ever since he arrived to the past:Why was he sent back in time?(Or, Jason plays the Superhero Game, where everything you love is always at stake and the only way to win is to say that you did and not break down from the lie.)(Or, the action-packed sequel toone day at a time)
Relationships: Everyone & Everyone, Jason Todd & Everyone, Jason Todd/Donna Troy, Terry McGinnis/Dana Tan
Series: Legacy (or the Jason Todd Peggy Sue AU No One Asked For) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771201
Comments: 591
Kudos: 754
Collections: DC Worldbuilding, Time Travel Fics That Water My Crops





	1. The Witch Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Well, here it is: the sequel to _one day at a time._ It came a lot sooner than I thought it would, especially considering the amount of work and research that went into this. Whatever the case, I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> On another note, the theme song for this story, if there should be one, is "Underdog" by Alicia Keys. I think as the farther the story goes along, the more you'll understand why. I'll see if I can make a playlist for this story later.
> 
> Edit: And here is the [ TV Tropes page](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheSuperheroGame)!
> 
> Edit 2: And here is the [ Characters Page for the TV Tropes Page](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/OneDayAtATime)!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ra’s al Ghul has been dead for three months. It’s time to get back on the crazy train.

Edward Nygma would like to think he was something of an accomplished supervillain, thank you very much.

Sure, he wasn't as murderously insane as the Joker, or as rich as Penguin, or as self-righteously powerful as Poison Ivy, or even as… _distracting_ as Catwoman, but yeah, he was an accomplished supervillain. He was, after all, smarter than them all, smarter than even the Bat. He was the one that could create the perfect crime and get away with it…if it weren't his pathological need to leave riddles behind for people to solve as clues. And even then, the Riddler was still a feared quantity among the criminal underground, enough that he even had third-rates like Cluemaster emulating him in hopes of attaining even a fraction of his success.

So yeah, Edward Nygma was an accomplished supervillain. One of the greats, to be honest. Which begged a question:

Why the hell was this brat kicking his ass?

"'What goes up be never comes down?' Age, duh. 'What gets bigger when more is taken away?' A hole, bleh. Are you even trying anymore? I'm pretty sure you could find every riddle on this list by searching 'common riddles' on Google and clicking on the first link," Gotham Knight complained as he continued punching the head of Nygma's last henchman. Edward twitched.

Gotham Knight. The new kid on the block. Appeared around five months ago, helping out the Bat with that incident with Shiva and then with the Joker's latest breakout. Unlike most new vigilantes on the street, Batman had quickly endorsed this one to the police and had been seen patrolling with him occasionally ever since. In fact, Knight had been his main patrolling partner while Robin, for whatever reason, had been missing. Then Robin came back and he stopped showing up so much, disappeared even for a bit, only to make a roaring return over two months ago by essentially taking over Crime Alley as his turf. He still hung out with Batman and Robin whenever there was something big going down, but for the most part he operated on his own.

Selina thought he was cute and Penguin seemed oddly grateful to him for some reason, but as for Nygma? Nygma _hated_ him. It was like dealing with a meaner Nightwing. At least Nightwing could be polite even as he was insulting you and sometimes his corny jokes and one-liners could even be funny.

This brat? This brat was irreverent of everything and everyone. He was never impressed with any of his traps or riddles and frequently insulted everyone and everything he saw. He could be brutal too — maybe even more brutal than the Bat himself. Zsaz was still recovering in a high-security hospital after Knight found him trying to slice up some toddlers. The serial killer would be eating out of a tube for weeks.

It made Nygma wonder where the kid had come from. There were rumors that he was the second Robin, but he couldn't be. Everyone in the super community, be they villain or hero, knew the second Robin was dead. The Joker hadn't stopped crowing about the deed after it was done, even after the Bat put him into a coma for months and then started a wild rampage throughout all of Gotham, taking down every criminal he could find no matter whatever personal harm he suffered to himself. A rampage that Superman himself had to stop, and really only ended when the third Robin rolled into town.

So who was he?

"Right." Knight tossed the thug away and turned to Nygma, who was holding his iconic question mark staff at the ready. He wasn't up to par against the Bat or Nightwing in a fight, but maybe he stood a chance against this one, brutality be damned. It's not like Zsaz was all that good in a fight himself anyway.

"If you think I'm going to be an easy target— _Hey!_ What the hell are you doing?" Nygma demanded as Knight turned away from him to talk to someone on his comm.

"What was that Spoiler? A situation in the Cave? Alright, I'll be there." Knight buzzed his comm off and turned his attentions back to Nygma. "Sorry about that, but I'm needed elsewhere. I'll make this quick."

"Why you cocky little—" Before Nygma could say more, he found himself tugged forward by his staff, which was quickly ripped out of his hands. Knight used it to throw him off his feet and onto his back.

Before Nygma could recover, he saw Knight swing the staff true, and knew no more.

* * *

After tying up the thugs and leaving Nygma hanging off a street lamp ( _ah, memories_ ) for the police to arrest, Jason sped off on his new motorcycle to the nearest entrance to the Cave. As he did so, he couldn't help but reminisce on how much things had changed since Ra's' death three months ago.

Now that there were no secrets being kept between the Manor's most frequent occupants (nor with the Birds of Prey), the atmosphere had become a much more relaxed. Jason felt more comfortable commenting on things that reminded him of the future and answering questions now that there was no need to talk around it with Damian or Stephanie. Of course, some subjects were still off-topic, but for the most part things were much more open in the house.

Life, for the most part, had gone on. Dick couldn't visit as much thanks to his triple-shifting as Bludhaven cop by day and Nightwing, protector of Bludhaven and leader of the Titans by night, but he still visited. Damian palled around with Jon while terrifying his classmates into submission and was probably plotting to take over the world (Jason seriously needed to consider keeping a closer eye on him — hacking into Gotham Academy's security feeds were not enough). Cass blossomed with her new ballet and ice skating lessons and had even made a friend or two. Even Bruce was less broody than he used to be. A better father too, though considering what he was like before, that wasn't much of a standard to exceed.

Of course, the biggest change was Tim and Stephanie's relationship. The two were nigh inseparable now, or as much as a couple like them could be with Tim doubling as Robin on weeknights and as Young Justice's kinda-but-not-really-leader on weekends. It helped that Stephanie practically lived at the Manor these days. With her mom's constant working it was a valid alternative and a great excuse for her to be here more often while she started her self-defense training. She had permanent lodgings in Cassandra's room (because not even Bruce was parentally-inept enough to let her stay in her boyfriend's room overnight) and had even taken to helping out in the Cave at night, handling comms whenever Alfred needed to go out or Oracle was busy handling the Birds. She wasn't ready to be vigilante quite yet, but if she ever decided to take that step, she'd be a lot more prepared for it than her counterpart was when she first started.

Jason was happy for her. For all of them, really. Life was finally beginning to settle down. Sure, there were some hard times ahead, but he was sure that they'd make it through. He didn't die a fourth time and come back to kill a six hundred year old immortal to accept otherwise.

Such were his thoughts when he sped into the Cave only to spot an overgrown Robin and a miniature Batman waiting for him. Jason quickly slowed his motorcycle to a stop as he took off his helmet and stared. Off in the periphery, he could see both Alfred and Stephanie staring as well, wincing and cringing. The latter was tapping her point fingers together in repeated manner, betraying how anxious she was. After all, this was strange even for Gotham.

Jason ignored them both in favor of too-tall-Robin and too-short-Batman. He blinked, making sure it wasn't a hallucination, before sighing. He dropped his forehead into his hand, and pinched, beginning to rub his fingers back and forth. He could just feel a headache beginning to build.

"Witch boy?"

He didn't need to look up to see the both of them nod. He already knew the answer.

"Right. Alfred, Steph, contact Oracle and ask her to have the Birds and Batgirl watch Gotham for the rest of the night. B, Rob, please tell me you two warmed up the plane already. I want to get this over with as fast as possible."

* * *

Jason twitched.

"Why did you bring your brother here?" An adult Cissie King-Jones whispered to Tim behind him. Another sign of how the timeline had changed — Cissie had left the team by the time this incident happened.

Tim grimaced. "He has a lot of experience with kids. I thought he could help."

"Well, he's just standing there instead."

As the adult members of Young Justice continued to bicker amongst themselves over the validity of the decision to bring him here, Jason continued to twitch as he observed the inner sanctum of Mount Justice, which was crawling with de-aged superheroes. A child Jay Garrick was racing around with a teenage Wally West, Kyle Rayner and Alan Scott were playing rock-paper-scissors, the JLA and JSA in general were just screwing around the only way young children and teenagers could, and the only adult even trying to keep things under control was Starwoman, aka an aged-up Stargirl (and God, it was weird to see Courtney like that again, even if she had shorter hair than he remembered), and one of the culprits, the Old Justice sidekick Doiby Dickles. Apparently, he had tried to reverse the transformation already, but it was ineffective without Klarion.

It was chaos. Pure, unadulterated chaos. It reminded him of all the times he had been forced to chaperone the annual Teen Titans/Young Justice holiday parties as both himself and as Batman, except worse because there were toddlers — babies, really — here too. A thousand times worse. Jason was sure there was a tick growing above his eye as his twitch became twitchier.

_Right. No nice way of doing this._ He snapped open one of the pockets of his utility belt and took out a miniature flare gun. Aiming it so he wouldn't hit anyone and make things worse, he shot flares into the sky three times. The flares fired with audible, loud pops that almost resembled explosions, catching everyone's attention and drawing all eyes on Jason, who calmly pocketed the flare gun back into his utility belt.

"Everyone sit down. Right now."

There was a moment of silence. Then a teenage Aquaman swaggered forward with an arrogant look on his face. "And why should we listen to you—Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

Before he could finish that statement, Jason had grabbed him by the top tip of his ear and _twisted_. Aquaman cried out in pain as the former Robin tugged, before whimpering as he sat down on the ground. Jason finally let go of the ear, then patted Aquaman on the head. Then he looked at the rest of the troublemakers, who cowered under his hard gaze.

"I'm going to say it one last time: sit down. _Now_."

Everyone under the physical age of eighteen quickly did what he said, some trembling in fear and shying away as he scanned the entire crowd, doing a head count. He narrowed his eyes when he realized there were four very important people missing, along with the _other_ perpetrator. He glanced back at Young Justice and Starwoman, all of whom couldn't help but flinch when they saw the severe expression on his face.

"Where are Superboy, Superman, Wonder Girl, and Wonder Woman?"

That caused the group to cringe. "Our latest intel indicates that they've been captured by this organization called the Agenda, one that Superboy has been tangling with for some time over in his home-turf of Hawaii. They've been taken to their headquarters over at the Arctic," Tim quickly explained.

"Right then," he turned back to the congregation of miniaturized superheroes. "I'm heading out. While I'm gone, Starwoman and Young Justice are in charge. If I come back and find out there was so much as even a hint of trouble while I was gone, _I will not be happy_. Understood?"

There were mutters of confirmation and shifty looks.

"I said: _**am I understood?**_ "

Upon hearing that dark tone, there followed loud noises of affirmation and a lot of furious nodding. Jason, satisfied, turned on his heel to leave. "I'm going to use the JL's emergency teleporters," he told Tim as he walked past the members of Young Justice. "Send me the coordinates for the Agenda's headquarters. I'll rescue those four, hitch a ride on one of them on the way back. While I'm doing that, try searching for Klarion or his cat Teekl. Whether you succeed or not, until I get back, make sure this lot don't get into too much trouble."

The newly-made adults stared at him wonder, more than a little bit intimidated. "How did you do that?" Impulse couldn't help but asked, amazed.

Jason turned to look at him, then patted him on the shoulder. "You'll understand when you have kids of your own one day." That said, he gave a pointed look to his younger brother. Tim swallowed, rattling off the coordinates to Jason. Jason quickly memorized them and went to the computer system to hack into the Watchtower.

As he teleported away, the remaining members of Young Justice and Starwoman turned to Robin. "What did he mean by that?" Starwoman asked, an eyebrow raised.

Robin groaned.

* * *

_The Arctic. I fucking hate the Arctic_.

But of course, the Agenda's headquarters just _had_ to be there. Jason kept his complaining inside his head as he stealthily evaded the Agenda's soldiers, both man and clone and everything in-between, inching closer and closer to the chamber where the intel indicated the Kryptonians and the Amazons were being held. Of course, once those four were released, stealth would have to be thrown out the window, but there was no need to go Nintendo hard right from the beginning. Jason already had enough of a headache trying to wrangle the JSA and the JLA earlier today.

_Thank God the Titans weren_ _'t all affected. Nightwing can handle them and the press while I deal with this._ Jason thought to himself as he moved across the shadows.

_**BOOM!** _

Which is, of course, when the alarm sounded.

As soldiers started running around calling out various codes and shouldering their guns, the Gotham Knight looked up to the ceiling with sad, mournful eyes. "I hate everything," he said in a deeply bland and embittered tone. Then he flipped off the ceiling he had been hanging from and moved towards the direction of the explosion, kicking away anyone who recognized him as an intruder.

It wasn't long before he found the source of the disruption: the very people he had come here to rescue. The four were debating how to escape, and with them was a young African-American woman that Jason didn't recognize. He approached them, clearing his throat.

The four turned around, prepared to fight, only to relax slightly when they saw it was him. "Knight? What are you doing here?" Superman Jr. (aka de-aged Superman) asked.

"To rescue you. Which I guess I didn't need to do."

All four smiled awkwardly.

Jason shook his head. "Whatever. We need to leave. And I need to know — who is the woman tagging along?"

Superman Sr. (aka aged-up Superboy) glanced at the woman, rubbing his head sheepishly. "Oh. She's my…friend, Tana Moon."

_Tana Moon? Why does that sound famil_ _—shit._ "You," Jason pointed at Tana, "come here," he ordered.

The woman froze for a moment, before hesitantly complying. The moment she was in arm's reach, Jason took out a lock pin from inside his utility belt and quickly started working on the collar around her neck. Within a minute, he had managed to crack the locking mechanism and toss the collar away. "Great, that's done. Now let's get out of here."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

Jason resisted the urge to groan as he turned around and spotted the newest interloper. Another African-American woman, this one older and with shorter hair, appeared, backed by a number of soldiers. A high-ranking member of the Agenda, no doubt. One with a solid grudge against Kon, judging by the hateful glare she shot Superman Sr.

"And who the hell are you?" Jason could help but ask, voice clearly exasperated.

"Amanda Spence," the woman introduced herself, smirking. "And the only reason I'm telling you that is because it'll be the last thing you'll ever hear."

The Gotham Knight stared at her, unimpressed. Then he tossed a couple of smoke bombs on the ground. The group of Agenda agents coughed as smoke enveloped the area around them, obscuring the superheroes and their civilian tag-along from sight. When the smoke finally dissipated, all six were gone, with only a hole in the ceiling indicating where they'd went.

Amanda grew red in the face, and she took out a communicator. "GO AFTER THEM!" she barked into it, "NOW!"

* * *

"Why did you have us drop off Tana?" Superman Sr. asked curiously as the five superheroes flew through the air back to Mount Justice.

"Because she's a civilian and would've only been a liability while we dealt with Klarion," Knight replied pointedly as he hung awkwardly from Superman Sr.'s back. As the largest person here, it had quickly been deemed that he would have the easiest time transporting Jason with them back to Young Justice's headquarters.

Superman Sr. glanced at the aged-up Wonder Girl, who shrugged. He had a point, after all. But before anymore could be said about the matter, the entire group stopped. They hadn't reached Mount Justice. They didn't need to.

"What. _The Hell_ ," Jason hissed angrily.

Beneath their feet was a battle being waged between the miniaturized JLA and JSA and what looked suspiciously like a bunch of de-aged versions of many, _many_ prominent supervillains. Jason felt the twitch in his eye return as he scanned the area until he spotted who he wanted to see. "Drop me off next to Robin," he ordered Superman Sr., who quickly complied.

The adult-ified Robin was currently using his staff to fight off a mini-Poison Ivy's plants. Jason quickly took out one of his specialized batarangs and tossed it, only barely stopping to watch it freeze the vines before it shattered on its own to pieces. Before mini-Ivy could even react, he tossed a bolo at her, tying her up and keeping her distracted for the time being. Then he turned his attentions back to his younger brother, who shrunk beneath his wilting glare.

"I told you and your team to keep things under control until I got back!"

"We did!" Tim defended himself. "They were all being obedient and stuff and Secret even managed to find Teekl! But before we could use that to bring in Klarion, he showed up with this army of supervillains to attack us! And even after he was going to surrender for the cat, this older version of him showed up and attacked him, starting the fighting!"

Jason felt his twitch grow worse with every word that spilled out of his little brother's mouth, and he was certain there was now a visible tick on his forehead. Whatever, it didn't matter. He was ending this _now_.

"Where the hell is Klarion?" He asked viciously. "I'll fix this right now."

Tim swallowed but pointed his bo-staff towards the right. Jason turned to see what was undoubtedly a pale kid in a tiny suit fighting an older version of himself in a magic duel. Yup. Klarion the Witch Boy, alright.

The former Batman stomped off to deal with the source of all of today's troubles, jumping over heroes and villains alike. He arrived in the middle of the duel and quickly tossed another bolo at the elder of the two combatants, tying him up before he could continue the fight. Then he looked at the younger one with the most terrifying expression he was willing to shoot a child with. "You. Fix this. _**Now**_."

Klarion puffed up his chest, and Jason would've found it adorable if he wasn't up to his wit's end dealing with children today. He loved kids, but even he had limits. "And who are you to order around Klarion…Bum, Bum, Bum…the Witch Boy!"

It _was_ adorable.

Jason still wasn't moved.

No, instead he drew out one of the All-Blades and pointed it at the child, seething. "I'm Gotham Knight, that's who. And if I'm telling you to fix this, _**you fix this**_."

The Witch Boy stared at the All-Blade, then at Knight, before sighing, looking incredibly downtrodden. "I just wanted to have _friends_ _…_ " he whined pathetically.

_That_ finally melted Jason's icy exterior, and he sighed as well, dispersing the All-Blade back into his soul. He crouched down next to Klarion, absentmindedly tossing another bolo at his struggling clone, and gingerly wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders. "I know. But this isn't the way to go about it, Klarion."

Klarion sniffed. Jason opened another pocket in his utility belt and took out something — a bag of cookies. He unzipped the bag and took one out, handing it over to the magical child. Klarion took it gratefully and bit into it, lighting up immediately as the chocolate chip gooeyness melted into his mouth. Alfred's cookies, as always, saved the day.

"Fix this and I'll give you the rest of the bag," Jason promised.

Upon hearing that, Klarion grinned toothily before floating up to the sky, nonchalantly eliminating his clone on the way up. Jason winced as the clone disintegrated, and then watched as the villains were transformed back to their proper ages and teleported away. Once they were gone, the mini JLA and JSA stopped with their fighting, instead looking around in confusion. A look from Jason had Robin ordering them to gather around, and minutes later Doiby Dickles and Klarion shot two simultaneous beams of energy at the crowd of superheroes. Jason felt himself relax as everyone returned to their proper ages.

Teekl the cat jumped up and curled herself around Klarion's shoulders as Jason handed off the bag of cookies. Klarion took one out and munched on it, giving Jason one final wave before popping away to God knows where. Jason sighed in relief before glancing at the crowd of heroes, who were all trying to get used to being back to their proper ages again. It was finally over.

Or at least that was what seemed to be the case, until Superboy collapsed.

"KON!" someone shouted as the crowd immediately surged around him. Jason was one of the first ones there, helping turn Kon on his back. The young clone was shaking fitfully, almost like he was seizing.

And then he glowed white.

Well, that wasn't entirely accurate. His eyes turned white and when his mouth opened a ray of white light burst out. Two similar rays burst out of his eyes as well, before an entire white colored aura surrounded him. The aura grew stronger and stronger, almost blinding as it burst out of the younger hero, before gradually fading away, leaving an unconscious Kon-El behind. He was breathing, and a quick check-up by Jason indicated he was healthy, stable, and that the light, whatever it was, hadn't caused any physical changes. But he wasn't waking up.

Jason looked up from the past version of his friend to gaze at the rest of the heroes, who were all looking every bit as confused and worried as he was. There was no doubt the same question had crossed all their minds:

_What was that?_

* * *

Several hours later, and Kon's condition still hadn't changed. The group of heroes had dispersed in the meantime, each returning to their respective headquarters and/or cities. Only Young Justice had remained, along with Gotham Knight, Batman, and Superman, to watch over the young hero. The younger heroes congregated around their teammate, watching him with worry, with Superman observing his young protege a little ways off. Batman and Knight were the farthest away, but they too were watching Kon, waiting. The latter was worried like everyone else; the former was also worried, but also mostly concerned of the potential threat.

"You did a good job today," Bruce complimented his son, arms crossed.

Jason gave a small shrug but didn't answer. He only had eyes for Kon. This might not be _his_ Kon, but he still cared for him all the same.

"I guess you had experience dealing with so many kids?"

"You could say that," Jason finally said, exhaling deeply. "Granted, not so many so young, but with teenagers…yeah, I've had to deal with more than my fair share of teenagers. Especially teenage superheroes. It's a never cakewalk, but I've picked up a few tricks over the years."

Bruce nodded slowly. "Like the ear thing?"

Jason quirked up a small smirk. "Like the ear thing. Though that one isn't just useful when it comes to kids, you know."

"Oh?"

"You're not the only one who's had to deal with teammates acting stupid over the years," Jason explained, mind awash with memories.

His father gave one of those almost-smiles of his, which might as well be a smile when he was in Batman-mode. It was nice to see.

"Arrgh…"

Everyone immediately perked up at the sound of Kon's groan. He was waking up! Batman and Knight joined Superman in joining the small crowd of Young Justice, watching eagerly as their friend awakened. Kon blinked repeatedly up at the ceiling, before sitting up, scrunching his eyes a bit. Then he looked at them.

And stared.

"Hey, buddy," Robin started, voice soft and comforting. "How do you feel?"

Kon glanced at him, still staring. Robin's smile, and the smiles of everyone else gradually faded away when he failed to respond to the question. Confused looks were exchanged.

"Kon?" Robin prompted again.

His best friend didn't respond, instead sweeping his gaze over everyone else, lingering on Bart, Cassie, and Clark in particular. And then, it morphed into a harsh, almost deadly glare. Several of the people present took an unconscious step back at the sight of it.

"Is this a joke?" he demanded quietly, angrily.

People blinked. "Kon?" This time it was Clark who asked, voice deeply concerned.

"SHUT UP!" Kon snapped at him, and this time everyone _did_ take a step back.

"Kon!" Cassie scolded him, horrified.

But Kon wasn't paying attention to her. Instead he was glaring up at the ceiling, though he wasn't looking at any place in particular. "What the hell is this, Prime? Is this another one of your games? Well if it is, I'm not falling for it!" he shouted to the sky.

_Prime?_ Now everyone was confused.

So confused, that no one noticed Jason, who had grown disturbingly pale.

"Kon, what's going on?" Bart was the one who asked, reaching for his friend's shoulder. Kon immediately shied away, glowering at him.

"Shut up, fake! The real Bart has been dead for years! I went to his funeral!"

That caused everyone to freeze. All the other people present stared at Kon in horror, and in the cases of Tim, Bruce, and Clark, dawning realization. Jason stepped forward, breaking through the crowd as Kon continued ranting.

"I watched the real Cassie's body _burn!_ I saw Tim die _right in front of me_! You can't be them! You _can_ _'t_!"

"Kon—!" Cissie shouted, disturbed.

"Hiyori Tanaka."

And just like that, the room fell instantly silent.

Kon zeroed in his gaze on Jason, but it was obvious by the perplexity on his face that he didn't recognize him. Not with the mask and domino on, at least. "How do you know that name?"

"You first met her when she moved to Smallville in 2033," Jason continued, not answering his friend's question. "She was this big shot lawyer from Los Angeles who decided she wanted the quiet life after she won this big case on corporate corruption and got a ton of unwanted publicity for it. She became Smallville's new local attorney, and during one of her first trips to the Farmer's Market, she met you at your stall. It was love at first sight. You two danced around for months before you began dating, and finally got married in 2035. A year later, your son, Vance Kent, or Van-El, was born."

Now the clone's attention was entirely on Jason. Everyone else might as well have disappeared, hanging on the periphery as they too all focused on Jason. "How do you know all this?" Kon asked quietly, though there was a tremble to his voice.

Jason stepped forward and sat on the foot of Kon's medical bed. Calmly, he deactivated his mask, letting it slide down the bottom half of his face, and took off his domino, revealing his full appearance to everyone here. He could hear gasps, but he didn't care. His secret identity mattered little in the face of this. "Because I was the best man at your wedding. And when Van was born, you made me his godfather."

Kon began shaking. "…Jason?"

The former Batman smiled back sadly, and there were some tears welling up in his eyes. "Yeah, Kon. It's me."

"But…how? Why are you so young?"

Jason reached out and took Kon's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Because my soul traveled back in time and merged with the soul of this body, Kon. Just like yours did, it seems."

"Back in time? You mean we time-traveled?" Kon looked completely poleaxed at the thought.

"Yes," Jason admitted, ignoring the second round of gasps from Young Justice.

"Then…that means…" Kon glanced again at his teammates. Then tears of his own began to build, and he began to choke as he tried to suppress his sobs.

Jason kept his hold on Kon's hand as he looked back at his father, the one remaining person in the room he knew was still capable of being impartial and clear-headed. "We need some privacy. Please."

Bruce nodded seriously. "Young Justice. Superman. Let's go," he barked, catching everyone's attention.

"But—" Cassie protested, only to be silenced by Batman's patented glare.

"Robin, Superman, and I will explain everything in the other room. But for now, let's give these two some time to talk," he calmly ordered.

Young Justice looked reluctant to comply, especially when they saw the way Kon had buried his face into his hands and was jerking with his cries. A pleading look from Jason, clearly not in the best emotional state himself, however, convinced them that this was for the best. Glumly, the teenage heroes followed their mentors and superiors to the outside room. It was only after the door shut closed and they were alone that Kon lifted his face, blotchy and red from tears.

"Oh my _God_ , Jason," he said, hysterical. "Oh my God."

"I know, Kon," Jason said, reaching forward to hug his best friend for the first time in eight years. "I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. We're going down _that_ route. I'm going to try to answer every unanswered question about the rest of Jason's timeline in this story, and this is just the start of it. I think you're all going to love it.
> 
> Next chapter: Jason and Kon.


	2. Superman II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young Justice reels from several revelations.
> 
> Jason and Kon catch up.

"Time travel? Seriously?" Cassie demanded the two older heroes, her hands on her hips.

Bruce and Clark exchanged looks. The rest of Young Justice looked equally confused and incensed. All except for…

" _ **Robin!**_ " Secret called out, noticing her teammate's guilty demeanour. " _ **You knew?**_ "

Robin rubbed his arm sheepishly. "Jason told the entire family the night he got home," he admitted.

" _ **Got home? Where did he go?**_ "

This time, all three exchanged looks. "Jason is the second Robin," Bruce finally said, sighing.

That shocked the entire team. "But the second Robin _died_ ," Bart pointed out, aghast.

"It's a long story. But the gist of it is that Jason came back to life, and when he did, his future self's soul merged with his past self. At least, that's what it seemed to have happened. Either way, he had all these memories of the future and came home as soon as he could once he realized what happened."

"And now the same thing has happened to Kon?" Cissie wondered.

"It seems so. That's why I let Jason stay in there alone with him. He's the only who can understand what Kon-El is going through right now."

The members of Young Justice exchanged skeptical looks. Bruce sighed again.

"Let me put it this way: according to Nightwing, when Jason first saw him again, he had a breakdown. It's because to him, Nightwing had been dead for over twenty years."

A pall of silence covered the room as the children stared at Batman, stricken with horror.

"That's what Kon-El is going through right now. I don't know how many years some of you have been dead to him, but the fact is that you _were_ , and that means he's going to be very emotional around you for a while. And different. It's still him, of course, just much older than you remember but…you should prepare yourselves regardless."

Once again, Young Justice curried looks among themselves. They were finally beginning to understand the severity of the situation, of the true emotional turmoil their friend was going through. It was a very sobering idea.

"Who else knows?" Cassie asked, voice quiet.

"Wonder Woman," Batman immediately answered. "My entire family, including my youngest son. The Birds of Prey. And…a number of high-ranking members of the League of Assassins."

Young Justice blinked. "And you aren't worried about that?"

"Oh, we are," Robin replied, rubbing the back of his head. "But Jason managed to cow them all into silence after he killed Ra's al Ghul. So they shouldn't be a problem for the time being. Besides, with Kon coming back too, it's very likely this won't be a secret for much longer."

The team of teenage superheroes blinked again, whether in disbelief of how nonchalantly they were treating the idea of so many potential enemies knowing such a dangerous secret, or the idea of someone around their age killing one of the most notorious supervillains in the world. And the idea that the members of the Bat-Family, the most notorious proponents _against_ killing, were okay with that.

"That's…a lot, Robin," Cissie finally said for them all. The rest of their friends nodded their agreement.

Robin slumped his shoulders. "Welcome to my life for the past seven months."

Another period of silence fell over the room as everyone thought over all they had learned in the last hour or so. In particular, Tim, Cassie, and Bart tried not linger over the statements Kon had made about their deaths when he had still believed this all to be a hallucination. That was walking down a road that no wanted to see the ending of.

" _ **What do you think they**_ _ **'re talking about in there?**_ " Secret wondered curiously, gazing at the door of the infirmary.

"I imagine they're catching up."

Everyone glanced at Superman. He had stayed conspicuously silent ever since they had exited the infirmary room, face deep in thought. Now he was speaking up, however, though there was unquestionable sorrow in his expression as he too gazed at the infirmary door.

"When Jason spoke to me about my future, he told me Kon died eight years before he did," Clark further explained. "That means to him, Kon has been dead for eight years."

The children swallowed at hearing that.

* * *

"Eight years, huh?"

"Yup," Jason confirmed, now seated in a separate chair, next to the upper part of the bed. Kon had laid back on his pillow, arms settled into his lap as he stared up at the ceiling, trying to comprehend this new reality.

He was in the past, with his best friend — and to his best friend, he had been dead for eight years.

"How?" Kon asked.

"…Lung cancer. Diagnosed when I was forty-eight. Died when I was fifty."

Kon exhaled deeply at that. "Oh, Jay…"

"It's fine, Kon," Jason waved him off, chin on his hand as he leaned his elbow against one of the armrests. "You and I both know how much I didn't want to die in that suit. The cancer gave me a reason not to, even though it meant I would have to give it up to Terry sooner."

The Kryptonian hybrid shifted his head to look directly at Jason, a quizzical look on his face. "You gave it to Terry? But I thought you didn't want him anywhere near the mantle. He already had a hard enough time convincing you to make him Robin." Went unspoken was the reason why. Kon knew how touchy that subject was with his best friend.

Jason sighed. "It was always going to be him, Kon. I kept denying and denying it until he saved my ass from Joker VI. After that, I couldn't fight it anymore."

"Huh," Kon replied noncommittally. There was nothing he could say to that. "Speaking of successors, how was mine?"

The former Batman smiled. "Jon was doing fine when I died. He's finally the hero we all knew he could be. You would've been so proud, Kon."

Kon grinned at that. "Good. I'm glad I left you all in good hands." He hummed. "What about the others?"

"Well, Helena and Dam got engaged."

The former Superman sat up at that. "Seriously? You actually gave your blessing?"

"I wasn't _that_ overprotective, Kon."

"Tell that to the rest of Helena's suitors," Kon deadpanned.

Jason scowled at him. "Yeah, well, they've been dating for years. I've known Dam since he first arrived on Earth. Hell, I taught him. If there was anyone I could trust with my little girl, it was him."

"Yes. I'm glad you finally realized that."

That earned Kon a small push, which did absolutely nothing to budge him. The Kryptonian hybrid laughed. Jason felt his lips twitch, until he gave in too, chuckling. "I _was_ overprotective, wasn't I?"

"An overprotective, overstressed, and overworked single dad," Kon confirmed, smiling. "And we wouldn't have had you any other way."

Jason smiled back. "Well, as for everyone else, M'gann was doing fine, as was Wallace. Both were enjoying the singles life, as always."

"Please tell me M'gann at least moved out of the Watchtower."

"She is never leaving that Watchtower and you and I both know it."

Kon reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "That darn workaholic Martian. Just like her uncle."

"Yup," Jason agreed, popping the 'p' for emphasis. "Kaldur finally took on a new Aqualad: Prince Arthur."

"I imagine he wasn't happy about that."

"Oh, he wasn't. From what I heard Queen Atlanna had to make it an order. And you know Kaldur — whatever the Queen says, goes."

"Always loyal to a fault, that one," Kon commented. "Kyle?"

"Got back together with Soranik. Got married. They had a son right before I died, named Saarko."

Kon grimaced. "Even after the second Sinestro Corps War? And after what he did to Sinestro and the Sinestro Corps to _end_ that war?"

"That didn't stop them from having casual 'totally-hate-not-love' sex on the reg years later," Jason pointed out.

"True," Kon conceded. He then peered at Jason pointedly. "What about Donna?"

Jason opened his mouth for a moment, then closed it. "She was doing fine, last I checked," he finally said.

Kon crossed his arms. "Jason…"

"We got together after you died."

Upon hearing that, Kon looked up to the sky and muttered a relieved 'Finally!'. But when he looked upon his best friend again, he realized that Jason didn't look nearly as happy as he should've been. "What happened?"

"Nothing, really. We were happy, madly in love, and then I got diagnosed with cancer and broke up with her without telling her why."

Kon sighed at that, slapping a hand against his forehead. "Oh, _Jason_ _…_ "

"I didn't know _how_ to tell her, Kon," Jason confessed, guilty and more than a little heartbroken. "It was going to hurt her no matter what happened but I thought…I thought that if I broke us up, she would have any easier time moving on when I finally bit the dust. And because…because I didn't want to admit to her I didn't want to fight it."

Kon sat up straighter, eyes wide. "Jason…"

"I was tired, Kon. I was _so_ tired. And I wanted to live, for her, for my family, but…it was never going to be enough for them. For her especially. And I didn't want to tell her I wasn't strong enough to fight for her. I was a coward and she deserved so much better."

Jason buried his face into his hands, regret permeating from him. Kon stared at him, at a loss, before sighing again and reaching over to place a comforting hand on Jason's back.

"Look, Jay. I might've not been there for your relationship, but I _was_ there for your friendship. And if I know anything about you two, it's that Donna wouldn't have held it against you if you had told her everything from the beginning."

"I _know_ , Kon, I know," Jason groaned, lifting his head to look at Kon again. "She told me as much the last time I saw her. I was an idiot for blowing it up like that. And now…" He looked away.

"There's still a Donna here," Kon pointed out weakly.

Jason gave him a dull look. "Who still sees me as a little brother. Who still has a living, breathing Roy here with her. We both know how much Donna loved him. I'm not gonna stand between that, especially since this is Lian's best chance in this timeline to have a mother that isn't that bitch Cheshire."

Kon winced. "Maybe. Look, Jay, I know Donna loved Roy. But I also know she loved you just as much, if not more. And we both know that as much as Roy and Donna loved each other, their relationship was incredibly turbulent. Maybe it will work out this time, maybe it won't. But if it doesn't, then maybe, years from now — you might have a chance."

Jason swallowed. He didn't agree, but he couldn't refute that either.

"Enough about the old timeline. What about the new one? What have you mucked around with?"

The second Robin leaned back into his chair, glad for the subject change. "Well, I brought Damian and Cass home early. Started up on Tim's advanced training. May have given him a tablet with details on everything I knew about Young Justice's first run. I left it to him whether or not to use it, but I guess with you here, that really doesn't matter anymore."

"No," Kon concurred, voice a bit wistful. "I guess it doesn't."

Jason hummed in agreement. "I also killed Ra's again."

"Again? But wouldn't you need…" Kon trailed off, and then he adopted a flat look. "Jason, did you die again?"

"…It was to protect Damian and Tim?"

" _Jason!_ "

"Oh, come off it Kon! Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing if it was your family on the line!"

Kon groaned and leaned his head against the headboard of his bed. "You're as reckless and impulsive as ever."

"Look who's talking," Jason retorted, crossing his arms.

"Fine, we're both reckless, impulsive assholes. That's probably why we get along so well."

"Nah. It's because you like my cooking so much."

"True," Kon admitted. Jason's cooking was God's gift to Earth, in Kon's opinion.

Jason smirked. Then, he adopted a more serious look. "What are you going to do now?"

Kon paused as he thought his answer over. "…I'll finish things up in Hawaii, find some closure with everyone there. But after that, I'm moving back onto the Kent Farm with Ma and Pa, if they'll have me."

"They will, Kon. You know they will."

The other boy smiled. "Yeah. That sounds just like them. It'll be good to see them again."

Jason nodded a bit. "And what about Young Justice?"

"…I want to stay. No, I'm _going_ to stay. But…" Kon closed his eyes. "…How can you stand to look at any of them, Jason? Knowing everything that happened to them?"

Jason adopted a far-off look. "I didn't, actually. At least not at first. When I saw Cass and Damian…it was easier to pretend. Pretend that Cass had just been de-aged, that it wasn't Damian but a clone of him or something. Or at least something like that. It was just so much easier to pretend that they weren't the sister I left behind, the brother that I held in my arms as he died."

"But when I saw Dick…" Jason inhaled. "When I saw him, I couldn't deny it anymore. He was so _young_ , and yet he looked so much like the big brother I lost. He looked alive and I…I broke down. Right in his arms. I recovered well enough afterward, and held it together long enough until I had to tell the truth to everyone at the Manor. And then I broke down again."

Kon gazed sadly at his friend. "And now?"

"It's easier now. But…it's going to be hard at first, Kon. I'm not going to lie. You're gonna have a hard time letting them out of your sight for the first couple of weeks."

"I'd imagine so," Kon exhaled again. "Anything else?"

Jason rubbed his arm. "I haven't told Clark about Kara yet. Or about you being half-him, half-Luthor."

"…Okay, I can understand the second one, but why not the first one?"

"Because we have no idea where Kara is and I didn't want him to fret over it when there is absolutely nothing we can do about the situation right now," Jason stated blandly.

"Valid point," Kon conceded. "And I guess now that I'm here you figure it would be better if it comes from me?"

"It's like you read my mind," Jason noted.

"We worked together for too long for me not to see where this was going, Jay," Kon deadpanned back, then sighed. "Fine, I'll do it. Is there anything else?"

Jason shook his head, only to stop. Slowly, his face became pensive. Kon frowned. "Jason, I know that look. What's nagging at you?"

"…A question. Something that's been at the back of my mind ever since all this started, and now that you're here, it's come to the forefront."

Kon's frown deepened. "What is it?"

Jason looked at his closest friend, dead in the eye. "Why are we here?"

* * *

It was over an hour before someone finally exited the infirmary room. Jason stepped out, a little more disheveled and still without his mask or domino. He looked tired, but happy, all things considered. He closed the door behind him, and observed the rest of the people present.

"He's ready to talk," the former Batman said. "Young Justice first, then you, Superman."

The teen heroes jumped to their feet at that (or in the case of Secret, floated up), and quickly rushed to the door. Jason stepped away to give them full access, though he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder to stop him before he could enter.

"You need to tell them, Tim," Jason told him seriously.

Tim swallowed. "But you said that it was my choice to tell them or not."

"I did," Jason admitted, "But the situation has changed. Kon already knows your secret identity, and I just revealed my face and name to all of them. It won't take them long to connect the dots once they have time to think it over. It's better you tell them now, get it out before they can figure it out themselves and confront you with it."

The third Robin tightened his fists with that. As much as he wanted to dispute Jason's words, he knew his older brother was right. The cat was already out of the bag, and it was only the stress of the situation that no one else had commented on it. Besides, there's no one he had left that he really needed to protect — both his biological parents were dead while his adoptive family was already in deep with the vigilante life. His girlfriend already knew his secret identity too. It was pointless to keep the secret from the rest of the team any longer.

"Alright," Tim finally said. "I'll tell them."

Jason gave him a proud pat on the shoulder before walking away, finally clearing Tim's path into the room. The current Robin inhaled one final breath, before stepping inside, unknowing of what, exactly, awaited him there.

* * *

Kon had gotten out of his bed after he told Jason he was ready to talk to them. But when the team, _his_ team, stepped into the room, he was beginning to wonder if he should've just stayed in the bed. He already felt his legs begin to tremble, ready to collapse. Cissie and Greta were hard enough; the last he had seen them, they had been adult women with husbands and children of their own, long out of the superhero life. But as for the last three…

_Bart, I was there when they erected your statue in front of the Flash museum. Cassie, I was there when they placed your body on top of a pyre to burn, with two coins on your eyes. Tim, I was there when you died._

Jason was right. This was hard. Probably the hardest thing he had ever had to do, and Kon had made plenty of his own hard choices over the years.

But it looked like he wasn't one the only one having a hard time. His friends were twisting and turning too, none of them knowing what to say. The only one who looked even remotely control of himself was Tim, but that was to be expected — he had already gone through this before with Jason. He just had never expected to go through this again with his own best friend.

He had never expected to go through this again at all.

And Kon…he had never expected something like this to happen to him. He had fantasized, of course. Every major superhero of his time did. They had all lost too much not to. But if he ever _did_ expect something like this to happen to him, he'd figure it'd be in the afterlife, when they were _all_ dead.

Not when they were alive.

Not when they were _all_ alive.

Not when they were stuck in the past, completely unaware of a future yet to come. A future that Kon had lived in for over twenty-seven years.

_God, how did Jason do this for eight months?_

Finally, it was Tim that bit the bullet. "Jason told me how I died. Saving a friend from Lex Luthor. He didn't tell me which friend, but now…it was you, wasn't it?"

Kon inhaled a shuddering breath. _He was always the smartest of all of us_. "…Yeah. It was."

"Good."

The current Superboy blinked at that firm, almost relieved response. "…What?"

Tim didn't look repentant. "If it was you, then that means I know it was worth it."

At that, Kon crumbled. He surged forward and pulled Tim into a hug, one that his friend returned. "I've missed you, Tim," Kon whispered into his friend's hair, feeling some of his tears return. Tim didn't say anything in response, just patted his friend on the back.

They stayed like that for a bit, and then Kon finally let Tim go, clasping him on his upper arms in one final gesture of affection. Tim smiled back in return.

"Tim?"

Both boys blinked when they saw the rest of the team staring at them expectantly. Tim grew fidgety again, but a steadying hand on his shoulder from Kon stilled him. He saw his friend smiling at him encouragingly at him.

"You can trust them, Tim. We didn't betray you in the first timeline, we won't betray you now."

Hearing that, Tim steeled his resolve. He reached up and removed his domino mask, finally revealing his face to his team. "My name…my _real_ name is Tim Drake. Or Tim Drake-Wayne, as you would've probably heard over the news."

The entirety of the team blinked as one. Then Cassie gasped. "That's why your brother looked and sounded so familiar! He's Jason Wayne!"

Tim sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. I guess you remember him from the karaoke video?"

"It's actually kinda hilarious remembering that now," Kon chimed in. "Getting Jason to sing back in the day was like pulling out teeth — painful, but so worth it in the end. All the women in the JL loved to swoon over him, even if they knew they never really stood a chance with him."

"Why is that?" Tim couldn't help but ask, but Kon mimed zipping his mouth shut. That wasn't his secret to tell, after all.

He gave Tim's shoulder one last squeeze before moving forward to meet everyone else. He headed to Cassie first, cupping her face. Even though their relationship didn't work out in the end, a piece of his heart would always belong with her. "Cassie Sandsmark. Beautiful at any age."

Cassie blushed at that. Then, smiling, she embraced Kon as well, allowing him to bask in her presence like he had with Tim. When they let go, Cassie bit her lip. "How did _I_ die?" she asked hesitantly.

Kon swallowed. "There was a war. Between the Olympians and the Titans of Myth. You participated in it, and you died in it. And as per your will, you were cremated in the Ancient Greek custom on Themyscira. I attended it, one of the few times a man was allowed on Paradise Island."

He almost said more, tempted to tell Cassie the truth of her heritage. But that would be too much right now, and technically that wasn't his secret to tell either. It was Helena Sandsmark's. He would have to meet with the woman eventually, perhaps implore her to tell the truth to her daughter. Cassie deserved that much, at least.

He moved on from Cassie to Bart, who for once wasn't twitchy, itching to move. The speedster looked uncharacteristically subdued. Kon smiled at him nonetheless, and pulled him into a hug. There hadn't been a body to bury when Bart had died, alas. Forcibly sealing someone into the Speed Force didn't allow for that.

"Who was it?" Bart asked, when they let go.

"Inertia," Kon admitted, feeling Bart's pain when he saw his friend wince. "Or Zoom, as he was calling himself at the time. Since you were the Flash by then."

"I was? But what about Wally?"

Kon flinched himself and looked away, shaking his head. Bart let out an "Oh," in realization, and became silent again. Kon gave him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder as well before moving onto the last two members of the team.

Now these two, he didn't feel so awkward around. He smiled at Cissie and Greta, feeling lighter than he had before. "You don't know how weird it is, seeing you two like this. Last time I saw you two, you had both been married with kids of your own, having long left this life behind you."

The archer and ghost looked at each other, then back at Kon. "Seriously?"

"Yup. Even showed me some pictures of your eldest son's middle school graduation, Greta."

That caused everyone to freeze. " _ **Greta?**_ " Secret asked quietly, disbelievingly

Kon's smile widened. "You real name. The name you had before you died. Greta Hayes."

If a ghost could stumble back, then that was what Secret did. " _ **My name**_ _ **…**_ " Secret muttered numbly, eyes wide.

The current Superboy gazed at her sadly, before seating himself back on his bed, gesturing for the team to gather around him. They did, albeit slowly, still trying to comprehend everything that Kon had told them. He would have to take it slower in the future, he realized. Give them time to process it more. After all, this was barely scratching the surface of everything that had happened in all the years that had passed before they had died. Before _he_ had died.

"Okay. What do you want to know? Mind you, there are some things I can't tell you yet. Either because I'm not ready, or you're not ready. Or simply because I can't."

"How did you die?" Cissie asked first, before anyone else could say more.

Kon sighed. "And of course, that's the first question you ask. And as for the answer…well, after Superman — the _first_ Superman, died, he had to have a successor. 'The world will always need Superman,' someone told me once. And since Jon wasn't up for it at the time, it fell to me. Someone didn't like that."

"This… 'Prime', you said?" Tim postulated, face grim.

Kon felt his own face grow dark. "Yeah. Superboy-Prime — or Superman-Prime now, I guess. He's an alternate version of the current Superman from another Earth. There was this…Crisis, you see, and his Earth was destroyed. He was sealed in a pocket dimension, but got a front row-view to our world. He didn't like how dark our world was, sought to change it, and became murderously insane in the process."

He leaned back onto his headboard, lost in memories. "He hated me. Said I wasn't the real Superboy, said _he_ was the real Superboy." Kon snorted. "He was wrong, of course. He wasn't worthy of that name, let alone the Superman name. Hell, this death wasn't even the first time he killed me. At least this time I got him back."

"Wait, _what?_ " Tim reeled back. "You mean you died before? Like Jason?" The rest of the Young Justice found themselves startled again, horrified at the thought.

Kon looked down at his sheets, trying to avoid everyone's accusing eyes. "A year from now. I was revived by sticking my body into a Kryptonian Regeneration Matrix. Since I was half-human, the process took over one thousand years. After I was revived, the superhero team in the future, the Legion of Super-Heroes, helped send me back to my own time to reunite with all of you." He didn't mention Bart's own revival. That was a tale for another time.

Now everyone looked cold. They would've lost their friend a year from now. Sure, he would've come back, but just the idea of it hurt. In the midst of their thoughts, however, Tim cottoned on to something. "Half-human? But I thought you were a clone of Paul Westfield?"

Kon shook his head, looking even more tired. "No. That was just a lie to obscure the truth from the actual reason for my creation. I'm really a half-Kryptonian, half-human clone of Superman and…" he sighed. "Lex Luthor."

Young Justice gaped at him. Kon grimaced. "Yeah. I didn't take it well either when I found out. Turns out _daddy dearest_ commissioned me to be his inside agent for the superhero community. When that didn't work out, he washed his hands of me — until my powers started growing at an exponential rate a couple of years from now. Then he kidnapped me and…" he glanced at Tim and then closed his eyes. The rest didn't need to be said.

"Your powers?" Cassie pressed after another minute of silence.

Kon rubbed his hands together. "Since my aging has been reactivated, in about a year or so, I'll start developing Kryptonian powers like Jon in addition to my tactile telekinesis growing stronger. Those powers will — eventually — equal the strength of Superman's."

"Wow…"

"Yeah," Kon smiled. "Pretty cool, huh?"

" _Really_ cool," Bart admitted. Then he grew a little sad. "You don't really need us anymore, do you?"

Kon clicked his teeth in denial. "Bart, I will _always_ need you guys. If you're worried about me leaving the team, don't be. I'm not going anywhere, not as long as you'll have me."

His friends exchanged smiles, and then piled on him as one. Kon half-heartedly complained before falling into laughter. It felt…good, to have this again.

And, for the first time since he woke up into the past, Kon knew things were going to be alright.

* * *

They talked a little bit more, with Kon confirming the plans he had told Jason, along with touching on some things he had glossed over — such as how, exactly, Greta had a son seeing as she was currently a ghost. Then, after they were done asking questions, he asked for them to leave so he could talk to Clark in private. There were some things that need to be kept between them, Superman to Superman.

Superman. He had called himself that at first to ensure he couldn't be taken away, that people would _notice_ if he went missing. And now…now, it was undoubtedly his mantle. He was Clark's equal now. It was unbelievable to think about.

_Was this was how Jason felt, when he realized that Bruce and him shared a mantle? That they were equals now?_ He would have to ask Jason later. He would have to ask Jason _a lot_ , later.

When Clark entered the room, Kon got up from the bed again. They stared at each other for a moment.

Then, Clark said, "Superman, huh?" with that smile of his, and that's all Kon needed to hear. He hugged this man, his mentor, one of the people closest to ever being a father for him, taking comfort in feeling those strong arms around him again.

When they let go, Clark adopted a more serious look. "Do you hate me for that? For leaving that burden on your shoulders? Jason told me how you died, Kon, and I'm sorry you were taken from your family so soon."

Kon took hold of his wrists and shook his head. "It's fine, Clark. It was my choice in the end, and I never regretted, not even once. I was my honor and privilege to take on your mantle. I only hope I did justice by it."

Clark lifted his hands to Kon's shoulders. "I know that you did."

After that, they moved to the bed, sitting next to each other. Most of the conversation was a rehash of the previous one Kon had with his team, including explaining his origins as a half-Kent, half-Luthor clone. Clark was a little offset by that, but told Kon that if it didn't matter to his future self in the end, it didn't matter to him. That made Kon smile again, happy to have that reassurance once more.

They continued talking about the family. Kon waxed on about what Jon had gotten up to, and Dam too, including excerpts about his humorous courting of Helena under the watchful eye of Helena's overprotective father. This eventually segued into a talk about Lara, Clark's younger child. And then…

"…she eventually ended up becoming the second Supergirl when she entered her teens."

"Wait, the second Supergirl?" Clark cut in, confused. "Then who was the first?"

Kon swallowed. "God, I hate Jason so much right now for dumping this job on me," he muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose again.

"Kon-El," Clark said firmly.

"You're not the last full-blooded Kryptonian, Clark. Nor the last surviving member of the House of El."

There was a moment of silence as Clark just _stared_ at Kon, almost unable to comprehend the words just spoken. "…What?"

"Her name is Kara," Kon continued, cringing slightly. "Kara Zor-El. She's your cousin, the daughter of your Uncle Zor-El and his wife Alura In-Ze."

"But…how, why?" Clark was unable to formulate any sentences, lost.

Kon sighed. "She was originally sent with you to the Earth, with the intention of having her raise you and protect you there. But her pod got lost along away, in what we believe to be the Phantom Zone. It eventually got dislodged from there, however, and arrived here on Earth. You two found each other, and after accepting her into the family, she became Supergirl, one of the most powerful heroines on Earth."

"Why didn't Jason tell me about her?"

"He was going to, Clark," Kon quickly defended his friend. "He told me himself. He just didn't know how, especially since there wasn't anything any of us could do about it as it currently stands. We don't know where Kara's pod is right now, we just know it'll arrive here within the next year or so. He didn't want you to obsess over it too much — you've already got your plate full enough as it is."

Clark sighed, not denying the logic behind that. It was all true, after all. Still… "How did she die?"

Kon looked down, the pain of the memory still fresh in some ways. "She died in 2027, fighting off Doomsday and a villain of hers named Reign with the rest. It was her death that inspired Lara to become a hero and her successor. It's…it's what inspired me to become _your_ successor after Jon refused the mantle for the first time."

_2027_. That meant she died two years before Clark himself did. Clark wanted to be angry, but at who? He couldn't blame Jason for not telling him, he felt uncomfortable enough talking about his own family's baggage. Kon had just gotten here; he was even more blameless than Jason. Doomsday? A mindless beast that he couldn't get rid of permanently no matter how much he wanted to. And this Reign, he wasn't even sure of he or she even existed yet.

So he let it go. He had no choice. "Will you help me, then? When she gets here?"

Kon looked at him as if he was ridiculous for even asking the question. "Of course! I loved her too, you know."

"Good," Clark smiled again. "I'm glad I'll have you by my side when the time comes."

His clone took his hand at that, and smiled back. That was all that needed to be said.

* * *

There was more to be said, of course. There always was. But it was soon becoming nightfall, almost time for them all to return home. As the members of Young Justice began to depart, one by one, Bruce, the only person present who hadn't gotten a private audience with Kon, approached him as he and his children waited for the Bat-Plane's autopilot to fly itself here.

"Are you going to do the whole 'paranoid ass' shtick?" Kon asked dryly the moment they were sure no one else could hear. "Because I'm telling you, I've been working with members of your family for decades, and I'm sure Jason has already got that part covered."

"I'm certain he does," Bruce admitted. "I just want to know how different he is now, compared to how you knew him before you died."

Kon shrugged. "It hasn't been long enough for me to form a solid opinion. But, if I were to say one thing, it's that he seems a bit happier than he usually does when he's on the job."

Bruce nodded shortly at that. Then he walked forward, as the Bat-Plane flew into view. Jason, who had been standing behind them, walked forward to follow, only stopping momentarily to stand next to Kon. "You'll take care of him for me, won't you?" Jason asked. There was no need to elaborate on who that 'him' was.

His best friend smiled at him. "You know I will."

Jason smiled back. "Yeah. I guess I do."

That said, he ran forward, jumping into the back of the plane. The door snapped shut, and the plane lifted itself before zooming off into the direction of Gotham. Kon watched it go for a moment, before flying off himself.

It was time to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll be doing a bit more with Kon later. Let's just say the beginning is going to be something of a wild ride first, and leave it at that.
> 
> Next chapter: an interlude, about the World's Finest.


	3. Interlude: World's Finest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of Jason Todd and Conner Kent, and the unlikely friendship that came to be.

Predictably, like any friendship between a Bat and a Kryptonian, Jason Todd and Conner Kent start off on the wrong foot.

Conner already has a best friend, Jason's little brother Tim Drake. And like any good best friend, Conner has not forgotten how Jason tried to murder Tim. Multiple times. So, obviously, he does not like Jason when they meet under friendlier circumstances.

Jason just sighs and shrugs when another friend of one of his brothers gives him the cold shoulder. It's nothing new.

He'll just steer clear of this one, like he has with all the others.

* * *

Years pass. Lex Luthor comes for Conner again and again, and he finally succeeds. Tim plays the game to get Conner back.

Tim succeeds, but dies in the process.

The fact that Lex died too is hardly a comfort to anyone.

Conner blames himself, of course. If it hadn't been for him, Tim wouldn't have died at all.

Jason, now Batman and all the horrendous glory that comes with it, sets him straight. For all their problems, Tim was little brother, his _favorite_ brother, and Jason knew that Tim wouldn't have gone through with it if he didn't think Conner was worth it. All Conner can do now is prove Tim right.

That is enough. Conner gets out of his funk, resolves himself. He doesn't thank Jason, but the appreciation in his eyes is evident.

It isn't friendship. Not yet. But it's a start.

* * *

They occasionally work together, because everyone works with Batman (no matter how much the original Batman insisted otherwise), and Jason is Batman now. But it isn't until Clark dies that they really begin to bond. Metropolis, no, the _world_ needs Superman, and Jon isn't ready, not yet. So it falls to him instead.

It's so much responsibility, and Conner fears floundering. He _can_ _'t_ , not when Clark is gone and not coming back. But Diana, she helps, and so does Jason. Jason understands the position Conner is in more than anyone else.

Jason, after all, was never supposed to be Batman.

No matter what their relationship was before, they are the World's Finest now, and that means being partners. That's when their tentative acquaintance flourishes into a genuine friendship, because Jason, for all his issues, is infinitely easier to get along with than his mentor ( _not Dick though, nobody was as likable as Dick_ ).

Tim's ghost, which haunts them both, eases away, still there but no longer so stifling. When Conner finally accepts an invitation to go to the Manor, for the first time in almost eight years, the memories of Tim are fleeting thoughts instead of lead weights. It isn't until he meets Helena Wayne that the pain comes rushing back in.

Because Helena might be Bruce's daughter, Jason's little girl, but everything about her screams Tim. She is empathetic and kind, but also brilliant and sassy and unapologetically manipulative, with just the right amount of cynical idealism (the same kind Tim had before…well). She even has Tim's old room, and that's when Conner knows Jason sees it too.

Conner loves her.

She is unquestionably his favorite of Jason's children.

* * *

When Diana retires two years later, neither of them are surprised.

Diana may be as young and beautiful as the day she first stepped foot into Man's World, but her soul is old and tired. The loss of so many friends and loved ones, of Clark and Bruce, have taken their toll, and deep down, both Jason and Conner always feared that it would be Death that would come to collect when the time came for her to leave.

Death does come, but not for Diana. No, Hippolyta is taken instead, leaving behind a throne only Diana can inherit. Diana has never been one to shirk duty, and her duty is now to her people. She cannot run from it now.

But Man's World still needs Wonder Woman. Jason and Conner need Wonder Woman, because the world was always stronger when the three of them were together. Diana knows this, and so holds a tournament after the mourning period is over. Neither of them attend, they cannot afford to waste time on that kind of frivolity, no matter its own importance. Instead, they hope and pray that whichever Amazon wins, it is one with at least a fraction of Diana's kindness and grace.

( _Another life, it might_ _'ve been Cassie. But Cassie's gone, like Tim, like Bart, and Conner tries not to feel so hideously alone._ )

When the new Wonder Woman appears, and everyone realizes it's a returning Donna Troy, a collective sigh of happiness and relief can be heard throughout the entire superhero community. Donna is perfect, more than perfect in fact; she's as skilled and strong as Diana, as compassionate and kind and _good_. Everyone already knows her, or at least has heard stories about her. With this Wonder Woman, it's simply a matter of catching her up with the times.

For Donna Troy left Man's World after the death of Dick Grayson, her closest friend. Her heart had already been on the mend after the death of her other best friend Lilith, and before her another in Wally West, and before even that, her first love Roy Harper, to say nothing the lingering hole that remained since the death of her son. The loss of Dick on top of so many other friends throughout the years was simply too much, and she abandoned the world of superheroics for the shores of her paradise home. Now she is back, and finds that the world hasn't forgotten her at all.

Donna slots into place within days, and while there are some quirks to work out, it's almost like Diana never left. The same applies to Jason and Conner, who never realized they were missing something in their friendship until Donna dragged them to a photography exhibit while they had a day out in their civvies. They make snarky commentary at the 'art' and Donna punches them both in the arms and scolds them, and yeah, she'll fit just right in with them.

More years pass. Conner gets married. Jason is his best man, with Tim dead and Bart with the Speed Force. He has a son, names him Vance ( _not Clark, it_ _'s too soon, the wound still a little raw_ ) and Van-El, and Jason and Donna are the godparents, because who else would it be? They're not friends anymore, they're family, and Conner can't imagine anyone else that would watch over his boy better.

And because…well, he's not the only one in love.

* * *

("She's looking good today, isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is."

"…Jay—"

"No, Kon. No. I can't. Not with her."

"Not even when she wants you too?"

"…Yes. Not even then."

"You goddamn Bats.")

* * *

They're some of the happiest years of their lives.

But just like everything else in this world, it doesn't last. That blasted fake Superboy cames for them again, and through his shrieking and whining rage of how _he_ should be Superman, Conner prepares himself for the fight of his life. He is stronger now, more powerful than even Clark thanks to his mastery of tactile telekinesis, but Superboy-Prime is one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse. Conner is under no illusions of his fate. He will die, just like the first time they fought.

The only difference is that this time, he'll win.

When the time comes, Conner kisses his wife and son goodbye, and stands with his two closest friends, one last time. Donna is the first of them to leave; she is to lead the charge against the invading forces. She hugs them both, gives Conner a kiss on the cheek, before she departs.

Now it's just him and Jason. Jason will have to leave soon too. Another Batman is pulling the strings (the how, they'll figure out later), and Jason will face him down. He won't do it alone, of course; Cass and Connor Hawke are both prepping the ship right now. Lian Harper is going as well, even though both Jason and Conner know that Roy will be waiting for them with a rusty knife in the afterlife for daring to bring his daughter on this mission. A slew of other vigilantes, all trained for situations like this, will be joining them. Jason even went in as far as to call in Zinda Blake, the legendary Lady Blackhawk, out of retirement to act as the pilot.

As he looks at this man, this war-torn man who has perhaps lost more than any of them, Conner muses on the irony of fate. He had loved Tim like a brother, and had mourned him as such. And yet, he found in a new brother in Tim's own, one who has stood beside him for every moment he's spent treading the path Clark left him to lead. The same brother who tried to kill Tim all those years ago and nearly succeeded more than once.

When he sees Tim again, he's sure they'll have a good laugh about it.

They don't say anything. They don't need to say anything. Just one look is enough.

Jason hugs him goodbye, and together, they part to face their destinies — one last time.

* * *

The battle is over. The day is won. Another Batman is dead (a false one, one that should've died with Bane and still somehow survived), this time of their own making.

Jason wants to go home and _rest_.

But not yet. It almost feels as if the entire world has stopped, as he sees Conner descend from the skies above. Beside him, Donna gasps, and Jason is tempted to join her.

Conner is bloody, beaten, and ready to keel over. He's not long for this world.

The same cannot be said for his opponent, who has already gone. Clark Kent of Earth-Prime is in his arms, bridal-style and without a rise and fall of his chest. He's dead and, God willing, he'll stay that way.

With more gentleness and dignity than Superboy-Prime deserves (because he's not Superman, and he never _ever_ will be), Conner sets his body to the ground. He stands, tall and strong, and the image is forever embedded in the minds of everyone present.

There is only one Superman, and his name is Kon-El — Conner Kent.

He doesn't stay that way for long. He begins to tip backwards, and suddenly Jason and Donna are both there to catch him, gently lowering him to the ground. Jon arrives as well, taking hold of his brother's head, softly pleading with him to stay with them. Kyle tries to utilize the hope in his ring, but it's not working because Conner…Conner is too far gone. Conner smiles at him, at all of them, with a bittersweet tilt. He knew from the very beginning how this was going to end for him.

"I did it," he says instead, choking a bit on the blood welling in his throat.

Jason reaches over to grasp his hand as that achingly familiar feeling of loss washes over him, and smiles back sadly.

"Of course you did. You're Superman. And everyone knows that Superman always saves the day."

Conner gives the slightest of nods, then closes his eyes as his body goes limp.

One sob, and then another, and it feels as if every hero here, in the _world_ , is crying.

Jason cries with them.

* * *

Another statue is erected in Metropolis. The second Superman stands side-by-side with his mentor in perpetuity, never to be forgotten. Together, they hold up the world.

At his funeral (the public one, not the private one where the body will actually be buried), the entire Justice League is present, as is other notable figures — from world leaders to common folk alike. The Superman Legacy is the greatest superhero legacy in the world, and there is not a single life on Earth not touched by it.

As the service nears its end, there is one final eulogy to be made.

Except, it's not really a eulogy. More like…a ceremony. Nightwing, who had been absent for most of the funeral's duration, descends from the sky. The crowd of heroes part for him like the Red Sea, and every eye in the world watches as he walks to the casket and pays his last respects to his brother and mentor.

Then, with his face away from the camera, he rips off his domino mask, letting it fall to the concrete as he ascends again. A swirl of blue and black surrounds him, slowly morphing into a familiar scarlet color. And once it ends, the world breathes as one.

A new Superman has risen above to take the mantle. Jonathan Samuel Lane-Kent has finally accepted his birthright, and the world finds hope again, knowing that there is another Man of Steel to protect them.

And as Jason looks up, he knows that somewhere out there, Conner is smiling down at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you enjoyed this interlude. A small glimpse of Jason and Conner's relationship over the years.
> 
> Oh, and in other news, this story now has a TV Tropes page. The link is in the first chapter under the top notes. Quick warning: the character page redirects to the page for _one day at a time_ , so you have to put any tropes for this story on there as well.
> 
> Next chapter: a visit to Wayne Manor.


	4. A Thousand Lives...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kon visits Wayne Manor. 
> 
> The visit doesn’t last for long.

Despite the monumental occasion of Kon's arrival to the past, life continued on relatively smoothly for the following two weeks. The rest of the Family was informed, of course, and a video conference between Bruce, Jason, Kon, Clark, and Diana had all five agreeing that it might be time to finally tell the rest of the JLA. Jason wasn't the only one wondering about the implications this event had, after all. It was time to loop in everyone else, see if they had noticed anything different over the last several months.

So, the Friday before they were supposed to meet with the JLA, Kon arrived to Wayne Manor in civilian wear with a pack slung over his back. Next to him, a hyperactive Jon was bouncing around, eagerly anticipating another play date with his best friend. It had been odd, seeing Jon so young like this again, and not the self-assured man he had become. The man that Kon had known, instinctively, would one day be his successor. But Jon was still Jon at any age, and he accepted Kon's newly-increased presence in his life with his usual cheer. The rest of the Kents, knowing full well why Kon had moved to the Kent Farm, had been tempted to tell the child the full truth, but after some discussion, elected not to. Jon was nowhere near as mature as Damian, unfortunately. There was no guarantee he would take the information well, or if he did, be able to keep it secret.

They only had to wait a minute before the doors opened to reveal a face Kon hadn't seen in over a decade: the famed Alfred Pennyworth, the longtime retainer of the Wayne Family.

The British butler raised an eyebrow. "Mister Conner. Mister Jonathan. Welcome. Masters Jason and Damian have been waiting for you."

Right on cue, Damian stomped forward with his Nintendo DS in hand, looking every bit like the grumpy, temperamental seven year old that terrorized Gotham Academy's second grade class. At least according to Jason and Tim, at any rate. "Jon! Come! We must crush the Elite Four once more so my Gabite can evolve into a Garchomp!"

"On it Dami!" Jon cheerfully said, running inside and only stopping for a moment to kick off his shoes. Alfred let out a mournful but resigned sigh as the boys jogged up the stairs to Damian's room. Kon shook his head in nostalgic amusement.

"Those two haven't changed at all," the current Superboy commented.

"I can only imagine the trouble they got up to when they got older," Alfred noted dryly.

This got a chuckle out of Kon. "Oh, you have no idea." He was pretty certain that Titans Tower still had scars from all the antics those two had gotten up to. _Both_ towers.

Kon handed off his bag to Alfred, but before he let go, he grabbed the outside of one of the butler's gloved hands. "It's good to see you, Alfred. And please, call me Kon."

Alfred smiled at him. "Very well then, Mister Kon."

* * *

Jason hummed as he walked down the stairs, smiling when he saw Kon waiting for him at the bottom of the steps. The moment they were close, they clasped hands and exchanged a bro-hug of sorts. "Hey. You missed Tim, by the way. I dropped him off for a date with Stephanie about an hour ago."

Kon waved him off. "It's fine. If I don't see him today then I'll just see him tomorrow at Mount Justice."

"How's that going, by the way?" Jason asked curiously.

His friend shrugged. "Well, all things considered. It's a bit of a work in progress, considering the experience difference and all. I'm content following orders but whenever things get harry I tend to take charge. And with my tactile telekinesis…"

Jason raised an eyebrow. "How strong is it?"

"…It's as strong as it was before I died."

The former Batman's eyes bugged. "That's…strong. _Really_ strong." Which was an understatement. Kon was the strongest telekinetic in the world before he died. There still hadn't been anyone close to being as strong as him before _Jason_ died, not even M'gann, who had been the solid second on the list. While the first Young Justice team faced quite a number of threats during their tenure, it would be a while before they had to face a threat that required the kind of manpower.

"Yeah," Kon breathed out. "It's taking all my self-control to not end the missions early. I'll intervene if lives are at stake, but, well, they need the experience."

"Like training the newest YJ teams back in the day," Jason noted.

"I guess so," Kon agreed, eyes once again alight with memories.

Jason gave him an understanding pat on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's take a tour of the house. See how much and how little I changed over the years."

* * *

"It's weird not seeing a wall of pictures here," Kon commented at he stared at a mostly empty wall that only contained a portrait of one of Bruce's ancestors. It was located right at the junction between the family wing and the rest of the house.

In the future, after Dick's death, Jason had moved the portrait to another area of the Manor and replaced it with a photo of the core family — the last photo of the entire family before Bruce's death. That had been the sole photo on that wall for over three years until Carrie Kelley had decided a new photo was needed and placed one of the entire Family next to it. That had spawned into a tradition of placing photos of the family and their friends over the years on that wall, all surrounding that first family photo.

Jason had gone as far as to get some of his brothers' own photos out of storage to place on the wall. It had been quite a shock to Kon when, during his first visit to the Manor in several years, he had found a photo of Tim, Cassie, Bart, and himself on the wall, during one of their nights out on the town. Jason explained that it had been so they would always some kind of presence in the house — an idea Kon had agreed with whole-heartedly. While no photo could be placed connecting them to their superhero identities outright, for those rare visitors not somehow involved in the superhero life, Jason had managed to fill up most of the wall all the same, to the point that they had to expand it to the next wall over.

That wall had been a staple of Wayne Manor for years. For it not to be there, well, it was another reminder of the situation. Another nail in the coffin. They were both in the past, and there was no going back.

"I've been thinking of asking Bruce to start recreating it — as much as we can with this timeline, in any case, but I'm not sure he'll go for it. You know how touchy he is about his secret identity."

Kon nodded slowly. The first Batman's obsession with his secret identity had become infamous over the years, long after the man himself was dead. Of course, that wasn't to say Jason wasn't protective of his own secret identity, or those of his children. It just wasn't to the same degree Bruce had gone to, or even Tim. The Bats had simply been too ingrained in the superhero community for too long to not have their names spread, even if it wasn't to the same extent as the other major superhero families. So Jason was more relaxed about it than his predecessor, only really enforcing that etiquette when out on the field.

It had been the same with Kon. There had been a time when the Superman identity had been almost as secretive as the Batman identity. But there hadn't been a point in the end. Not only was the Super-Family just as much of a cornerstone in the superhero community as the Bats were, but they also never went to the same lengths as the Bats in keeping their secret identities. The farthest any of them had gone (besides Jon's stint as Nightwing) was Kara dying her hair brunette, and even then she had eventually stopped doing that. Instead, they had all settled for glasses and let themselves be amazed by how oblivious the common populace could be.

"Do you miss it, sometimes?" Kon blurted out before he could stop himself.

Jason raised both eyebrows. "Miss what?"

"The future."

The former Batman looked stunned for a moment, before sighing sadly. "Everyday."

Kon nodded absentmindedly, swallowing. "How were they, afterward?"

Jason crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, tapping his fingers against one of his forearms. "Van was doing fine. He asked for you occasionally, but for the most part, he was happy. Jon and Dam did a great job filling in for you. And as for Hiyori…"

"Please tell me she moved on, Jay." Kon didn't like the idea of his wife being alone. He loved her, and he wanted her to be happy, even it couldn't be him anymore.

But Jason…Jason had never been one to beat around the bush. "You were it, Kon. She tried, but she later told me that no man she ever dated afterward would ever compare to you."

Kon released a shuddering breath as he ran his hand up his face and through his hair. "I wish I could've been there for them. Hiyori… _Van_ …" _I should_ _'ve been there to see my son grow up._

Jason drifted his eyes away, lingering on his own regrets. "You know how this life is, Kon. We rarely ever get what we want."

"I know, Jay," Kon responded, glum. "I know."

There was a silence, and then… _ring!_

The former Robin and clicked his teeth. "Dick," he told his friend, before taking the call. "What up, Dickie?"

" _Jason, there_ _'s this crazy 'Donna Troy' chick hanging around the Tower right now, claiming to be a Titan. Know anything about that?_ "

Jason immediately became alert, pushing himself off the wall and clasping the phone against his ear much tighter. Kon didn't fail to notice this, and his sorrow was soon lost in his concern.

"What are you talking about, Dick? Donna _is_ one of your teammates."

" _Are you sure? Because I_ _'ve never seen this woman before in my life._ "

Jason's eyes widened. "Dick, give me a moment," he told his older brother, before lowering the phone and placing his hands over the speaker so his voice wouldn't carry over the line, before looking back at Kon with a distressed expression. "Kon, call Cassie. Ask her if she knows who Donna is."

Kon quickly fumbled for his phone. Jason didn't bother to wait for him, instead returning to his call with Dick. "Yes, Dick, I'm sure. Let her into the Tower, and wait for me. Kon and I are going to head over there immediately. If you still feel like you can't trust her, fine. Just watch her for the time being. But I can assure you — she isn't a threat to you or anyone else on the team."

" _Alright_ ," Dick said, though he clearly sounded skeptical, " _if you say so, little wing. Nightwing, out._ " The call cut.

Jason turned back to Kon, who was talking furiously over the phone. Eventually, he ended his call too, and he had a grim look on his face. "I called Cassie. She doesn't know who Donna is either," he explained to his former teammate.

"Fuck," Jason swore. "We need to get over there _now_."

"I'll go grab my bag from Alfred. My gear is in there," Kon added, already on the move.

"While you're there, tell Alfred to watch Damian and Jon while we're gone and to pick up Tim and Steph from their date and Cass from her ballet lessons!" Jason called out to him as he headed towards the direction of the study. "I'm going to go suit up in the Cave! Meet me in the backyard when you're done!"

* * *

Because of the severity of the situation, both of them had rushed in their duties. Jason had suited up as fast as he possibly could, only doing two check-overs to make sure he had everything he needed and that nothing was out of place, before meeting Kon in the backyard. After that, Kon flew them over to Titans Tower as fast as Jason's body could possibly handle without being ripped to shreds, arriving there within an hour and a half of Dick's call to Jason.

They were quickly let inside of the base, where they were guided to the main meeting room. There, they were met with a disheartening sight. The Titans were all off to one side of the table, watching Donna suspiciously. Donna was on the other side of the table, hands in her lap and looking down at the table, clearly devastated that none of her friends remembered her.

Jason stepped forward and stared at her for a moment, before Kon pushed him, silently gesturing to his friend to go to her. The former Batman licked his lips nervously, before deciding to go with his friend's suggestion. He walked towards the former Wonder Girl, ignoring the looks the Titans were shooting him. "Donna," he said as he approached her, crouching down to one knee and taking her hands in his. "Hey."

Donna blinked as she lifted his head to look at him. "Jason?"

"Yeah," Jason nodded, smiling.

"You…remember me?"

"I do. Kon and I both do," he said, gesturing to the other teenager in the back, who waved at them with a comforting smile.

The poor woman looked on the verge of tears. "But…how?" she asked, voice raspy. "No one else does."

Jason clicked his tongue against his teeth. "It's a long story," he finally admitted. "And neither of us is entirely sure how, but the fact is that we do, and we're going to fix this. I promise."

"But we don't even know why this is happening!" Donna cried, lifting one hand to try and stifle her sobs. It was obvious she had been trying to figure out why for a while now.

"Hey, hey," Jason spoke quietly, pulling the hand away and brushing back a lock of hair. "It's going to be okay, Donna. Alright? And you're wrong — we do know why."

"We do?" Donna wiped back a tear. "But how?"

He hesitated for a moment, before speaking again. "It doesn't matter how. Not right now, anyway. But as for why…it's more of a who, Donna. It's Dark Angel."

Donna froze. "What?"

"She's gone back in time and erased everyone's memories and records of you," Jason explained. "She's doing it in hopes of driving you insane before she kills you."

The Amazon didn't have anything to say to that. Her mouth was open, her bottom lip trembling, but no sound was coming out.

"All we have to do is stop her," Jason continued. "We do that, everyone's memories should be returned and the records restored. They'll remember you, Donna."

"But how do we find her?" Donna asked, despondent. "She could be anywhere, Jason."

"Don't worry. We will. We can call in Zatanna or Dr. Fate—"

"Or you could just look over here!"

All the superheroes snapped to attention as another woman warped into the middle of their conference room. Her appearance could be best described as demonic — she had long, shaggy black hair, pale skin, and red eyes. Her nails were sharp and elongated, and she wore a red dress with long sleeves that showed off her cleavage. Any attractiveness that could be found in her appearance was offset by the downright _vile_ smile on her face and her aura, which exuded menace.

" _Dark Angel_ ," Jason hissed, glaring at the woman with hatred in his eyes.

"Who the hell is that?" Dick demanded, drawing his escrima sticks, as the rest of the Titans, including Donna, prepared for battle.

"The one responsible for all this," Kon told him, stepping into a ready stance. "The one who wiped your memories of Donna away!"

Dark Angel lifted her hands and began forming a massive ball of red energy. Jason grit his teeth and glanced back at the others. "Kon!" he shouted.

Kon obeyed the implicit order and lifted his hands, managing to form a massive telekinetic shield just as Dark Angel fired. While he managed to protect everyone from the blast, the surrounding building had not been so lucky. By the time he was sure it was safe to drop the shield, the walls of the room along with the main computer had been completely obliterated, revealing the outside world in their place.

The Titans looked around in dismay at their destroyed conference room, while Jason drew out the All-Blades from the depths of his soul. Kon flew over to stand next to him, forming two bubbles of telekinetic energy around his hands. "You ready?" he asked.

Jason flipped the All-Blades in his hands, holding them level with his chest. "Always."

"Knight!" Jason looked back to see it was Dick calling him.

"Have your team distract her, Nightwing!" Jason called back. "Superboy and I will take her down!"

Not bothering to wait for an answer from his older brother, Kon and him sprung forward into action. Jason boosted himself with the miniature platforms Kon made for him, using them to propel himself towards Dark Angel with on of the All-Blades aimed directly at her shoulder. Kon, meanwhile, formed to more barriers around her legs, trying to keep her stationary. Just as Jason was about to strike, however, Dark Angel managed to teleport away, forcing him to catch himself on the ground with a quick roll.

Dark Angel teleported in front of him and grabbed him by the neck with a telekinetic choke hold, using one hand to blast away at Kon with a continuous beam of energy, forcing him to retreat. Jason tried to stab her in the leg, but she caught his wrist and twisted the blade out of his hand, before doing the same to the other one. She then lifted a hand to his temple, caressing his hair.

"Now then," she rasped, "how _did_ you manage to avoid my memory wipe? I'm certain I wiped Donna Troy completely from record."

"Fuck you," Jason cursed back in response.

"Oh, my dear, I think I'm too old for you."

"Again, fuck you. I'd never want anything to do with a deranged psychopath like you anyway."

Dark Angel slapped him, causing Jason to smirk at her. Before they could continue their conversation, the Titans started their own counterattack, aiming arrows and batarangs and energy blasts all directly at their adversary. Dark Angel scoffed before binding Jason to a nearby tree with her powers. Then she began to shake, before gradually growing to a gargantuan size.

As she began swatting away at the Titans, Jason struggled out of his bonds, trying to draw out a miniature knife he kept in the wrist of his suit so he could saw off the wood. He stopped, however, when he saw Kon get up and fly over to him. Using his telekinesis to boost his strength, he ripped the wooden bonds off of his friend, allowing Jason to fall to his knees, rubbing at his wrists to make sure nothing had been damaged. Then, as one, they began to observe the battle as they recovered.

It wasn't going well, to say the least. Dark Angel seemed to have an answer for everything the Titans threw at her. It didn't help that their teamwork was off due to none of them remembering who Donna was, and thus not remembering her power set and skill set. Their entire dynamic was scrambled, and Dark Angel had no issues taking advantage of it.

"We need to get back in there. We need to take her down," Jason grunted, getting back to his feet.

But Kon stopped him, placing a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him stationery. "I know how much Donna means to you, Jason, and she means a lot to me too. But if we go in there half-cocked, without a plan, we _will_ get killed."

Jason wrenched his shoulder out of his grip and whirled on his friend angrily. "Then what are we supposed to do! We stall any longer and Dark Angel will kill her! Will kill all of them!"

_Whoosh!_

"Maybe we can help!"

Both boys turned around to see that Wally West, the current Flash, had arrived, along with a much unexpected figure: Diana. _Wonder Woman_.

"Flash, Wonder Woman," Jason exhaled in relief. "Thank God!"

"How did you know what was going on?" Kon asked, stepping forward.

Wally grimaced. "During a conversation with Diana I realized she didn't remember who Donna was. I then went to Green Lantern and he admitted he didn't know who she was either. Then we got reports on an attack on Titans Tower. I couldn't convince Lantern to come with us, but I did manage to convince Wonder Woman."

"I will admit, I do not understand what is going on," Diana admitted, taking out her lasso, "But I do trust Flash and if he says that we need to help this Donna Troy, then that is what we shall do."

"We need to take down Dark Angel," Jason told them both, glancing back at the battle. "We take her down, and everyone's memories of Donna will be restored."

"Right then," Wally turned to watch the battle with him, prepared to jump into the fray. "How do we do that?"

Jason paused. "I don't know. The only way I can think of is to kill her, but…"

"We should just knock her unconscious for now," Kon suggested. "Bind her. If that doesn't work, then we'll figure something else out."

"Works for me," Diana tossed in, stretching her lasso until it was taut. "How we should do this?"

"Keep hitting her until she goes down, and then keep hitting her until she's out," Jason said, once again drawing out the All-Blades from his body. "Flash and I go low, Wonder Woman and Superboy go high. Everyone agree?"

He got nods in return. "Then let's go!"

Just like that, Jason felt himself picked up by Wally and quickly sped over next to one of Dark Angel's legs, which he quickly stabbed, lodging the All-Blade directly into her skin. At her current size it was more of annoyance than anything, but it distracted her long enough for Wonder Woman to use her lasso to swing Kon in a circle, launching him directly at Dark Angel's upper body.

Kon adopted a classic two-fisted flight pose, hitting Dark Angel directly in the chin, causing her to stumble back. He landed on her shoulder and started sending repeated telekinetic blasts to her face, continuing to force her back. Just in time, as Wally returned from his run around the area to strike her abdomen with a Supersonic Punch. Dark Angel gagged with the blow, bending forward and forcing Kon to fly off her shoulder to avoid falling off.

Jason glanced back at the Titans, who had almost recovered from the thrashing Dark Angel had given them. "Now!" he shouted at them. "Before she recovers!"

They didn't need to hear anymore. At the direction of Nightwing, the Titans attacked, with Donna herself leading the charge. Jason drew out several batarangs and added to the barrage, and saw Kon doing the same with his telekinetic blasts. Dark Angel crumbled to her knees as the barrage got to her, trying to shield herself with her arms from the attack.

Then, she burst out of it with a scream, releasing a shockwave that sent them all flying away and off their feet. Jason felt himself careen against the ground, groaning and blinking when he stopped, trying to get his wits back. Before he could, however, he felt the familiar touch of a telekinetic chokehold around his neck, and gagged as he was forcibly lifted off his back and upright into the air, in front of a now normal-sized Dark Angel.

"Such a nuisance," she hissed. "Why do you fight so hard for her?"

Before Jason could reply, he felt Dark Angel lift a finger to his temple. The moment she touched it—

* * *

" _Okay, okay, so which is better? The chocolate chip? Or the oatmeal raisin?" Jason lifted both bowls of batter for good measure._

_Donna hummed for a moment, tapping her finger against her chin, before giving him a sly grin._ _"Both," she answered cheekily._

_Jason slumped over, giving her a dry look as placed the bowls back on the counter._ _"Come on, Donna. This is serious. Terry told me Matty wants the best cookie flavor ever for his birthday party, and I can't fail him now."_

" _Then why don't you just ask him?"_

_He looked at her as if she said something blasphemous._ _"I can't just 'ask him'! I'm Batman! It's my job to know these things without anyone needing to tell me anything!"_

_Donna shot him a bland look._ _"Jason. Really?"_

" _Yes, really!"_

_The Amazon pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation._ _"You and your ridiculously high standards for yourself. Jason, it's a cookie flavor. There's no way to determine 'the best cookie flavor ever' because it's all based on_ opinion _._ _"_

_Jason pointed a wooden spoon caked with some leftover cookie dough at her._ _"Says you. Alfred managed to figure out the best cake flavor completely on his own without having to ask for anyone's opinion."_

_Donna gave him a look._ _"Alfred Pennyworth."_

" _Yes."_

" _The man you called the best baker ever."_

" _Yes," Jason repeated, wondering where this was going._

" _The man who, you said, could bake anything, and it would be the best whatever…_ ever _._ _"_

" _Yes—Oh." Jason blinked, then groaned. "_ Oh. _"_

_Donna shook her head, then took another plastic spoon and dipped it into the chocolate chip cookie batter. She scooped out a bit of it and then placed it into her mouth, savoring the sugary spice of the chocolate._ _"Mmm. Delicious."_

" _So it's the chocolate chip?" Jason asked, lighting up._

" _Nah. The oatmeal raisin."_

_Jason scowled and flicked a bit of flour at her. Donna laughed._

* * *

_Jason grunted as he blocked the blow aimed for his face, then retaliated with a punch of his own. Donna blocked with her forearm, before countering with a spinning elbow. Her opponent grabbed that one too, sliding down her arm to forcibly straighten it before bending it behind her in a painful hold._

_This was their third sparring match today. After spending several hours going over an advanced hand-to-hand combat session with a Tier 2 class, the two had stayed behind in the Watchtower_ _'s gym, taking advantage of the five hour-break between that class and the next one. Having worked up a bit of energy, the two elected to let off some steam with a good, old-fashioned spar._

_Donna threw back her head, reverse-headbutting his chest until he was forced to let her go, then followed up with a kick to the solar plexus. Jason stumbled back, catching himself with his hands on the ground and weaved under Donna_ _'s downward punch, instead slamming into her shoulder first and knocking her to the ground. He quickly pinned her under using his greater body mass and weight, using his hands to hold down her wrists._

_Of course, he didn_ _'t_ really _have her pinned. Donna was an Amazon whose strength was on par with her sister_ _'s. If she wanted to, she could throw him off and there would be absolutely nothing he could do about it. It was only because of her decision to limit herself to the strength and speed of a normal adult woman of her size and fitness that he had managed this much at all._

_He grinned down at her._ _"I win."_

_She pouted up at him. It was cute._

" _Ah! No need to be a sore loser."_

" _I am_ not _a sore loser,_ _" Donna insisted to him._

_Jason gave her an amused look, panting slightly._ _"_ Sure _you aren_ _'t."_

_She was scowling, and he was smirking, and the moment held like that until they heard someone clear their throat. Startled, they glanced at the doorway to see Kaldur standing there, a towel slung over his shoulder and a bottle of water hanging from his left hand. He raised an eyebrow at them._

" _Am I interrupting something?" he asked, tone deceptively neutral._

_Suddenly realizing the compromising nature of their position, Jason quickly scrambled off Donna and got to his feet, straightening out his work out clothes, watching as she did the same._ _"You're not interrupting anything!" They said as one, then cringed when they realized what they did._

_Kaldur raised the other eyebrow._ _"Right," he said in a way that made it clear that he didn't believe either of them._

_Jason and Donna turned to each other and then looked away, both heavily blushing._ _"I…better go wash off," Donna said awkwardly, then scampered off as fast as she possibly could without making it obvious she was trying to escape the uncomfortable situation._

_Both men watched her go and disappear around the corner, towards the showers. Then Kaldur glanced at Jason and shook his head._ _"You two are sad together," he told his friend._

_Jason groaned._ _"Shut up, Kaldur."_

* * *

" _Stop fidgeting, Kon!" Jason scolded his best friend for the nth time as they waited for the guests to finish filing into the church and seating themselves._

" _I can't help it, Jay!" Kon whispered back as he waited eagerly next to the bishop at the altar. "What if she doesn't show up?" he sounded almost hysterical at the thought._

_Jason sighed._ _"Kon, she's going to show up. I've met very few couples as hopelessly and disgustingly in love as you two. So stop worrying."_

" _Easy for you to say. You're not the one getting married to love of your life today," Kon grumbled back._

" _Even if I was, I wouldn't be nearly as nervous as you," Jason asserted._

_Kon shot him an incredulous look._ _"You're kidding, right?" He pointedly shifted his eyes to a seated Donna in the front row, who was speaking with M'gann in hushed tones._

_Jason followed his line of sight and scowled._ _"Screw you."_

" _You two, shut up!" Kaldur whispered to them both, cutting into the argument. "Wallace just came back. The bridal party is about to enter! The ceremony is about to start!"_

_Both men clamped their mouths shut and straighted their backs at that. Wallace rejoined the line not long afterward, taking his place as the last groomsman. Soon, the doors slowly opened and Mendelssohn_ _'s "Wedding March" began to play. The world fell away._

* * *

_The ceremony had finished without a hitch and the reception was now in full swing. Jason had quickly found himself press-ganged up the stage to sing his own rendition of_ _"I Melt With You" by Modern English for one of the first dances. Upon finishing and receiving his applause with a graceful bow, he left the stage and stuck around the refreshment tables, filling up on the food. On top of the ceremony, there had also been the pictures right after. He was hungry. If it hadn't been for the manners had instilled in him all those years ago when he first arrived in the Manor, he would probably be stuffing his face right now._

_About a half hour later, he was just about done, and about to reach for a glass of wine to wash it all down. However, he stopped himself when he spotted something in the corner of his eye. Grabbing two glasses instead, he walked over to the empty balcony area, where there was a single patron standing there, over the stone railing._

_Jason approached Donna with both glasses in hand. When she noticed his presence and glanced at him, he silently handed one of the glasses over, which she gratefully took._ _"I thought you quit drinking?" she asked mirthfully, taking a small sip of her glass._

" _I did, for the most part," Jason admitted to her. "I thought I could live a little for tonight. You know, for Kon's sake."_

" _Don't want to put a damper on the mood?"_

_He shrugged._ _"You know how I can be."_

" _You're not_ that _bad, Jay,_ _" Donna protested lightly._

" _If you say so, Donna," Jason replied, taking his own sip of wine._

_A comfortable silence settled between them, as they observed the twinkling, starry night sky above._

" _What are you doing out here by yourself?" Jason finally asked after a couple of minutes._

_Donna fidgeted a little, shamefaced._ _"I…had a moment. Needed some air, you know? The last time I attended a wedding like this was my own, twenty-eight years ago."_

_Jason gripped the glass a little tighter, but only just so._ _"Right." Everyone knew how that marriage ended._

" _It's supposed to be a happy occasion, right? I guess I was like you — I didn't want to put a damper on the mood."_

_The former Robin looked down into the insides of his glass, seeing his face reflected in the white wine inside. Then, feeling a burst of courage, he sipped the rest of it down and then settled the glass onto the railing of the balcony, before offering his hand to Donna. Donna stared at the hand for a moment, before staring up at him._

" _Dance with me," he asked, and tried to make sure it didn't sound like the plea that it was._

_Donna_ _'s entire countenance softened at those words, and she smiled as she set her own glass down and slid her hand into Jason's. She let him guide her to the dance floor, where there were already plenty of couples dancing, alongside with newly-married couple of Kon and Hiyori. A new song had begun to play: "The Bones" by Maren Moss and Hozier._

_They faced each other, Jason clasping Donna_ _'s left hand with his right while he slid his other arm around her waist, watching her grasp at that arm with her right hand. And then…they just swayed, back and forth._

_As the song continued to play, as they continued to sway, they felt their faces inch closer and closer. Donna had unconsciously moved her hand to press itself lightly against Jason_ _'s chest, the other hand doing the same when Jason let it go to wrap his other arm around her waist. Their faces were so close that their noses were almost touching. If they just moved a little closer…_

" _ARGH!"_

_They both stumbled back, forcibly separated, as they felt someone trying to run and break through their legs. Jason could only sigh when he saw it was_ _— his youngest son Matty, who wasn_ _'t even looking at them but instead observing his surroundings. It was clearly understood why when Terry slid into view with anger on his face, his suit messed up and stained with what suspiciously looked like a piece of wedding cake._

_As he watched his older son chased down his younger son much to the amusement of the other guests, Jason gave a shrug to his dancing partner. She smiled back, and then gave him a look that said,_ _'Go ahead. Go after them.' That was all Jason needed to see, and he took off, giving Donna one last look before he followed his children through the crowd._

* * *

_Jason looked around to make sure the inner sanctum was secure, that no one else would be able to get inside without them knowing. While the Founders and all of Senior Grade I were aware of his secret identity, they were hardly the only ones on the station. Once he was certain that it was, he finally took off his helmet, letting the hatches unlock from his suit. He set it down on the table, and then deactivated the face mask he kept beneath, letting it slide down his face._

_He looked at Donna, watching her take in his visage. It had been ten years since she had last seen it, after all. She hummed, reaching out to gently caress the contours of his face._ _"You've grown up," she commented._

_Hearing that, Jason gazed at her, at that familiarly kind and open face, belying the iron will and strength beneath._ _"And you haven't aged a day."_

_They smiled at each other._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not feeling the energy to write today, and I thought, since the last chapter was so short, I figured I'd drop a new one. And here it is.
> 
> I've kind of streamlined this arc, mostly because the original arc in the Titans comic included the Kingdom Titans and a whole slew of stuff that I really didn't want to get into. Also buffed up Dark Angel a bit, to make her more of a threat to the Titans and co. Hope you don't mind the changes.
> 
> And, well, I know a lot of you aren't quite sold on the Jason/Donna ship yet. I hope this chapter helps with that. Let's just say Jason and Donna will get a lot of focus soon.
> 
> Next chapter: The continued battle with Dark Angel.


	5. ...And One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle with Dark Angel comes to a close.

Dark Angel dropped her hand, blinking in astonishment and licking her lips. "Oh, how _interesting_ ," she remarked, smirking sadistically. "So _that_ _'s_ why."

Jason wasn't paying attention to her, too busy still struggling against her telekinetic hold. He tried to draw on the All-Blades, but couldn't find the concentration to summon them. _Dammit. Dammit!_

"You love her," Dark Angel continued, heedless of his turmoil. "Or at least a version of her. Someone from a time that has yet to be — that, perhaps, will _never_ be. How poetic. How tragic. Truly, it tugs at my heartstrings."

Fed up, Jason glared at her. "Fuck off."

Dark Angel ignored him. "It would be a kindness for me to take those memories away. That way, you won't have to pine after a woman long gone from this world, for a love that will never be again."

Jason's eyes widened in horror, and he started struggling even harder. "NO! DON'T YOU DARE! I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU EVEN TRY!"

The harbinger's smirk grin widened, as she reached forward to touch his forehead. But before she could, she was bull-rushed by Donna herself, who had managed to recover in the interim. Dark Angel's concentration broke as a result, and Jason fell back to the ground, trying to take in large gulps of air, precious oxygen lost the longer he had been at Dark Angel's mercy. He looked to see the tussling heroine and villainess, watching as Donna tried to punch out Dark Angel, who continued to dodge before shifting back to a titanic size and slapping the other woman away with her large hands.

"DONNA!" Jason called out to her, seeing her seemingly unconscious in a large crater, completely unaware of Dark Angel towering above her, the heel of her foot overhead.

"I tire of this!" Dark Angel boomed, before slamming her foot down. Jason darted forward, desperate to reach Donna before she was turned into paste—

And then Donna _glowed_.

* * *

" _The people we used to be don't decide who we are now._ We _do. So tell me: who do you want to be?_ _"_

" _I tried to stay away as long as I could. I was such a fool for even trying."_

" _You always saw the best in me even when I didn't see it in myself. It's you. It's always been you. And if there's anything I'm sorry for, it's that it took us so long to get us to this point."_

" _FINE! STAY ON THIS ISLAND AND ROT AWAY FOR ALL I CARE! IF YOU WANT TO DENY WHO YOU ARE FOR THE REST OF YOUR IMMORTAL LIFE THEN GO AHEAD!"_

" _Cassie! CASSIE!"_

" _She was right. Staying on this island didn't solve anything. It didn't make me immune to tragedy, it didn't wipe away the grief. It just left me alone. And I'm tired of being alone."_

" _I love you. I've always loved you. Whether it was as a symbol, an idol, a comrade, a friend, a sister, a…a woman, I've loved you. And I'll never stop loving you. And I know you think that none of it was real, that the life you've lived was a lie — but this isn't. It never has been. So_ please _, if you won_ _'t believe in anything else… at least believe in that."_

* * *

Jason stopped his approach, shielding his eyes as he watched the former Wonder Girl glow the same way Kon had done so weeks ago. The aura grew brighter and brighter, blinding everyone in the vicinity as they all came to. Even Dark Angel had stopped in her attack, completely at a loss.

When the light faded away, Donna sat up, a hand to her forehead. She had her eyes closed, her face set in a firm, serious expression, as she slowly stood up and observed her surroundings. Donna swept her gaze over the entire scene, eyes widening and lingering over certain individuals, before finally settling on Jason. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, neither quite comprehending what they were seeing.

"Donna?"

Both glanced at the other side of her to see that Kon had gotten to his feet as well and was gazing at her much the same way Jason was — with grand disbelief and just a tinge of hope. Donna swallowed, but before she could say anything, Dark Angel finally remembered the battle and moved to stomp on her.

Donna rolled out of the way, picking up Diana's lasso in the meantime, which had been involuntarily discarded after the shockwave from Dark Angel. She held it up as if she had used it thousands of times before, looping it before pulling it taut. Jason moved to stand next to her, drawing one of his sticks and transforming it into a sword, while Kon stood on the other side, lifting up so he was only just hovering above the ground. Together, the three faced off a recovering Dark Angel.

Despite her superior size and state of being, the harbinger couldn't help but be intimidated by these three heroes for some reason. However, she pushed the fear away, and swung ahead, intent on slapping them around like she had for most of the battle. They couldn't truly do any better than they had before just because of some random glow, could they?

She was quickly proven wrong.

The moment she slapped her hand down to the ground, the three jumped up, dodging the hand itself if not the shockwave of the blow. Quickly, Kon formed several miniature platforms for both his comrades to use, giving them a direct path up to Dark Angel's face. Jason sped through them as fast as he could, but even at his fastest he could compare to Donna, who was practically bursting with every leap.

She reached Dark Angel, kicking up the gargantuan woman's chin, before using another platform Kon had immediately formed under her to push off of to add some extra _oomph_ to the follow-up punch. Her Amazonian strength in such close proximity was enough to knock Dark Angel down. While she was distracted, Donna glanced back at Jason and, using her lasso, roped it around his wrist, pulling him forward with all her strength and swinging him directly at the falling Dark Angel's face.

He landed on the woman's cheek, using his sword as a sort of climbing pick, causing the villainess to scream in pain. If anything, that just encouraged him more to use it to climb up her sallowed out cheeks to her cheekbones and finally to her eyes. He then sheathed that sword in favor of an All-Blade, which he stabbed directly into her eyeball, causing Dark Angel to scream even _louder_.

She made to struggle and throw them off, but found she couldn't move her body at all, as if she had been tied up. Unbeknown to her, Kon had bound her the moment she had dropped to the ground with several, invisible telekinetic bonds, not wanting to risk another miraculous second wind like the first time. It was taking all his concentration to hold it, mostly due to the sheer size of her in combination with the strength and thickness of the bonds themselves, but that was fine — it would all be over soon anyway.

Donna dropped from the platform Kon had made for, landing on top of Dark Angel's chest, right above her cleavage. She briskly but calmly walked up that chest, jumped to her tormentor's chin, and then walked up her face, next to her nose and her remaining intact eye. That eye was completely focused on her, building a huge puddle of tears.

"You won't kill me," Dark Angel claimed, though there was an undertone of uncertainty to it.

"No, I won't," Donna agreed calmly, voice svelte. "But that's because I don't need to…Donna Troy, of Earth-7."

Dark Angel's one, remaining eye bulged out, widening in surprise and fear.

"A thousand lives and one," Donna spoke to the world, before reaching over and placing her palm against Dark Angel's enlarged nose. "You and I are _always_ one."

This time, it was Dark Angel's turn to glow white. The aura enveloped her entire being, every inch of her glowing pure white, before slowly turn into particles. The particles became a cloud, which then flowed into Donna's chest. She held her arms out to them, eyes closed and taking slow, but incredibly deep breaths. Once they were all inside her, she closed her arms close to the center, near the metaphorical heart. A another glow of white flared out from her, before quickly disappearing.

The moment it was gone, the Titans and Diana each collapsed as streams of their memories of Donna entered their minds. Kon, Jason, Donna, and Wally all watched as they tried to reconcile with the new information, silently waiting for them to come to terms with it all. Eventually, after several minutes had passed, they gradually came to their senses, with Nightwing being the first to open his eyes and get to his feet.

"I remember…" he whispered, before his eyes landed on Donna. He grew frantic. "Oh my God, Donna! I remember! I'm so sorry about earlier…" he trailed off.

Donna didn't look happy. She didn't look happy at all. No, instead, she was tearful, a hand over her mouth, the Lasso of Truth hanging limply from the other. Dick couldn't help but stare at her.

As the rest of the Titans followed him in their exclamations only to realize the recent, inexplainable emotional state of their friend. They had been victorious, Dark Angel defeated, their memories restored. So why wasn't she happy? Why was she crying?

Even Wally was confused. But if anyone had bothered to look at them, they would've realized that Jason and Kon were _not_.

Diana was the last of them to remember fully, for whatever reason. She gazed upon her sister with a large smile, only for it to falter when she saw Donna's silent, open-eyed sobs. Slowly, she took a step forward, a hesitant hand reaching out. "Donna? What's wrong?"

Donna look down, before taking the lasso and handing it over to her older sister. Diana gingerly took it, but her concerned eyes were still settled on her younger sibling. "Donna…"

"I…" Donna cut herself off, shaking her head. She crossed her arms and looked away, screwing her eyes closed. Finally, she said, "I remember your funeral, Dick."

The world stopped.

While the Titans and Wally were shocked and horrified ( _when did Dick die?_ ), Nightwing and Wonder Woman were an entirely different matter. They both grew white in the face, with Diana nearly dropping her newly-reacquired Lasso of Truth. Tentatively, Dick stepped forward with a pleading look on his face. "Donna, don't tell me…" he didn't finish; he couldn't. The thought was too painful to speak of. First his brother, then his brothers' friend, and now his own best friend?

When was it going to end?

Diana thread a hand across her face, similarly distressed. The idea of her sister enduring the kind of pain that she knew Jason and Kon were still suffering even now was a bitter pill to swallow. She knew how much those thoughts were torturing Bruce and Clark, being fully aware of the anguish of their wards but being unable to relate, unable to _help_. And now, she was in the same boat as them. She had managed to give what comfort she could to Jason, but how could that be enough for her own sister? For Donna?

Donna could sense the turmoil inside them both, but she could not help them. Not with so many long-gone faces at once, not with knowing, instinctively, what had happened to her the moment she had died and awoken again. How could she not, when she had fought alongside Jason and Kon both? For the very first time in eighteen years?

So instead, she turned around to face her fellow time-travelers. Kon was smiling at her, though there was a tinge of bittersweetness to his expression. He had to have known that it had been at least eight years since she had last seen him alive. After all, Jason had died eight years after him, and she had outlived Jason. And Jason…

"You look young."

The words came out, sudden, but fitting in a way.

Jason, still masked but unmistakably smiling, tilted his head in a wistful manner.

"And you haven't aged a day," she whispered back.

* * *

Bruce was not having a Good Day.

Granted, Good Days were usually rare things, but had become more frequent ever since Jason came back with two more children in tow. Sure, there was the whole hiccup of Jason's time travel and all, but as time passed he had gotten used to the idea of his son being older than him and acting more like an adult than his current teenage body suggested he was. And after the entire family had finally been let into the secret because of Ra's al Ghul (and while he would never be proud of it being Jason having to do the deed, he wouldn't deny the utter relief in knowing the most dangerous of his enemies was no longer a player in the game), things had calmed down entirely. There was no need to talk around things. There was no need to keep secrets.

But something had been nagging at him since then. He had tried to ignore it, tried to bask in the miracle of having his son back. And it had been easy to do at first, with Jason taking charge and forcing him to be a better person, a better father. Bruce was well aware of his faults, along with his difficulties overcoming them, and it had been so easy to slide back into bad habits when he knew he'd been forgiven for them. An unhealthy, guilt-filled cycle that allowed him to cling to the little vestiges he had of his parents' memories.

Then his son had told him where that cycle led the rest of the family to, and Bruce soon realized he didn't have a choice in the matter. For his family's sake, for _Gotham_ _'s_ sake, he needed to stop that. He needed to a better person, if only just a little bit. So he had focused all his energies on that, until he didn't have to think intentionally about it. That being a good father…was just being him.

He could tell that Jason was proud of him. That Alfred and Dick were too. It made him feel…well, good. But having accomplished that goal, that little question that had been hanging on the outskirts of his mind came roaring back in, and he knew it had been bothering Jason too. And now, with Kon-El having come back in time as well, it was at the very top of his head, at the tip of his tongue.

_Why are you here? Why were you sent back?_

It's not like either of them could answer, of course. He could see it naked on their faces — they didn't know. And there was no way to investigate it, either. Not until they informed the rest of the JLA, allow themselves to touch base with the likes of Doctor Fate or even John Constantine. Because magic, as much as Bruce hated it, was at the core of this. He could _feel it_ , right in his bones.

So, the question lingered. And when questions lingered in Bruce's mind, they tended to make him…irritable, for lack of a better word. He tried not to show it around his children (Jason, Alfred, _and_ Dick would murder him if he did), but he had no issues showing it around the Board of Wayne Enterprises, none of whom except Lucius had ever been his favorite group of people anyway. And all of them damn well knew it.

Which is why today had not been a Good Day. Today had been a Board meeting, and the entire thing had degenerated into a debate over the profitability of one of their clean energy projects. Bruce had already been on edge all day due to the feeling of _something_ missing his mind (which he would later realize were the memories of Diana's sister and Dick's teammate Donna Troy), and after a particularly unpleasant Board member made a comment about his father, Bruce launched into a quiet, but furious tirade directed towards everyone present (except, of course, the ever-trustworthy and affable Lucius Fox) and then ended the meeting early.

Then he got a call from Alfred, telling him that Jason and Kon had inexplicably booked it from the Manor in their superhero identities for some reason, passing on the responsibilities of watching over Damian and Jon and picking up Tim, Stephanie, and Cass to the butler. That had caused him to cut the entire workday short as he tried to figure out what, exactly, had spooked his second eldest son and his time-traveling friend to leave like that. He quickly tried to contact the JLA, only to learn that the Flash was acting strangely, asking people if they knew a woman named Donna Troy and becoming increasingly distressed when they gave him negative answers.

_That_ had prompted Bruce to change into his Batman suit and head over to the Watchtower, but by the time he was there both Flash and Wonder Woman had departed for, of all places, Titans Tower. After quickly kicking Rayner out of the monitor womb, he had pulled up a satellite feed of the Tower and could only watch in horror as everyone present (including his two eldest) battled some giant demon woman before something caused the feed to short out. He had been about to use the emergency teleporters to go there himself and help out only to be stopped by the headache induced by the return of his memories of Troy. Then he had been distracted by calls from the other members of the JLA (and several other superheroes as well) going through the same thing.

And then Diana had called Clark and him back over to Titans Tower. Them specifically. Bruce did not like the implications.

* * *

"You told them about the time travel!" Bruce hissed to Diana in a small, far-off corner of the room Clark and the two of them were sharing with the Titans.

Off towards the center of the room, the aforementioned team of young adult superheroes were completely and utterly silent, unable to even so much as look at each other. While those like Argent, Damage, and Jesse Quick, who didn't know Donna as well as the others, were taking the news as well as anyone could, it could not be said of the same for Donna's closest friends. Kori was in tears, and Victor was trying to give her some comfort, while Dick, Roy, Garth, and Wally, the rest of the 'Fab Five', the original founders of the Teen Titans, couldn't even look at each other.

"I had no choice, Bruce," Diana replied tiredly.

"We were supposed to wait until _after_ we informed the rest of the JLA, Diana," Clark said sternly.

"I _know_. But as I said before, I had no choice."

Bruce gave a small groan. "What happened, Diana?"

The Princess of the Amazons sighed and crossed her arms. "Dark Angel returned and decided she need to kill Donna for whatever reason. But _before_ she did that, she decided she wanted to drive Donna insane first and isolate her from any possible allies. She used her chronokinesis abilities to wipe out all memories and records of Donna from existence. The only ones unaffected by this change were Wally, Jason, and Kon-El."

"Wally quickly realized something was wrong when I failed to recognize Donna's name during a conversation we were having. While he tried to figure out what was going on, Nightwing called Jason for information about Donna. Jason quickly realized what was going on — probably because this happened in the previous timeline as well — and had Kon-El bring them here to help. Then Dark Angel attacked and during the battle…" Diana trailed off, screwing her eyes tightly closed as her bottom lip trembled.

Bruce and Clark exchanged looks, and the latter swallowed. "What happened, Diana?"

"…Donna glowed, Clark. Like Kon-El."

Upon hearing that, both men had an immediate understanding of the situation. Bruce placed a hand on his forehead, muttering something to himself, while Clark reached out and pulled his friend into a hug. "Oh, Diana…"

"She can't even look at any of them, Clark," Diana whispered into his ear, barely holding back tears. "One of the first things she told us is that she remembers going to Dick's funeral. She remembers all their deaths. She remembers our _mother_ _'s_ death. She…she…"

Clark pulled her in closer, placing a tentative but comforting hand against the back of Diana's head. "We know, Diana. We know."

"My _sister_ , Clark. Jason was one thing, and so was Kon, but…she's my little sister. And I'm…I'm not sure I can help her."

"You helped Jason, Diana," Bruce pointed out gently. "Just by being a good listener. You can help Donna."

Diana let go of her embrace with Clark to look at Bruce directly, and it was clear he hadn't managed to convince her — not entirely. An awkward silence fell between all three of them, as Diana moved away from Clark back into a small circle, blocking them off from the Titans' earshot.

"So I take it she's with Jason and Kon-El in a separate room right now?" Bruce asked after a minute or so.

"Yes," Diana confirmed, rubbing her arm. "The two of them knew almost immediately what happened. They worked together to take down Dark Angel. It was…It was like watching us." The implications of that statement weren't loss on anyone.

"Jason has been deliberately avoiding mentioning your successor for some reason, but would it be safe to say that it's Donna?"

Diana thought that over before nodding. "Yes. I'd say it's very likely."

Bruce swallowed. "Once is happenstance."

"Twice is a coincidence," Clark continued, catching on.

"And three times is a pattern," Diana finished.

"Actually, in the original quote, it's 'enemy action'," Bruce corrected, though he understandably didn't sound happy about it. "All three of our successors were sent back in time, and at an increasingly higher frequency. Kon-El has only been back for two weeks. And now, Donna. If that continues…"

"…someone might come back as soon as tomorrow," Clark concluded. "End of the next week at the latest."

"What are we going to do? This is too much," Diana spoke mournfully. "We don't even know what's causing this."

"And whether or not whoever is responsible is benevolent. We're basically sitting ducks, waiting for the next catastrophe to come."

The idea wasn't palatable to any of them. They were superheroes, people of action. But they needed a direction, and none of them had one. It was as Clark said — they were sitting ducks.

"Has Donna said how far back she's come from?" Bruce suddenly asked, curious.

Diana looked at him and swallowed again. "She outlived Jason by ten years."

Both men stared at her, before sighing as one. "So to her, Jason has been dead for ten years, and Kon…"

"…has been dead for eighteen," Diana confirmed.

"A lot can happen in _one_ year, let alone ten years, or eighteen," Clark noted. "Kon had a baby son when he died. That means that by the time Donna died, he would have just become an adult. And considering how close she seems to them both, it's unlikely she would've stayed out of his life after his father's death. Jason certainly didn't."

"Meaning that she would have information about the future of our families even they wouldn't have," Bruce said, following that train of thought.

Diana buried her face into her hand. "Hera, what a mess."

Neither of her friends said anything. She was right, after all.

* * *

"They're all doing fine," was the first thing Donna said the moment the three of them had privacy. While the conference room of the Titans' base had been destroyed, the rest of the base was still intact. Diana and Dick to the Titans and Wally to the main living room to give them a full rundown of the situation while Jason, Kon, and Donna caught up.

Kon and Jason exchanged a look. "While that's good to hear, Donna, we still need to know: how?" Kon asked, crossing his arms with a serious expression on his face.

Donna diverted her eyes. "Alien invasion. One that had been planned for years in advance. I fought thousands of them off before they finally got me. I used my last breath to shield Terry."

Jason looked up at her at that, an indescribable look on his face. "Really?"

The former Wonder Woman smiled softly, if sorrowfully. "I promised you I would take care of him, didn't I?"

The two of them locked gazes for a moment, before a cleared throat broke the moment. Kon smirked at them both knowingly, before becoming serious again. "How is everyone?"

Donna's smile turned more genuine at the question. "Van is fine. He just graduated from Superboy to Nightwing."

Kon grinned at that. Jason, meanwhile, blinked in surprise. "Really? What about Dam?"

"He shares the Superman mantle with Jon now. Jon figured it was time to cut down on the superheroics now that he was a grandfather and all. Same with Lara. Finally tied the knot with her girlfriend and adopted a kid of her own, which they're both raising on the farm with Hiyori."

The second Superman chuckled. "Wait until Clark hears that. He's a great-grandfather now."

"Yup. Just like how Jason is a grandfather now."

Both men froze. "You serious?" Jason asked, a bit of hope in his voice.

Donna tilted her head fondly. "Clark Wayne-Kent and Bruce Wayne-Kent. Twin boys. Around six years old. They're quite fond of playing with their baby cousin Warren, who was born right before I died."

Jason stumbled back, and Kon quickly grabbed a chair for him to fall into. "Three grandchildren," he muttered, before he began to beam happily, smiling ear to ear. "I'm a grandfather," he said, a hysterical chuckle following that statement. "I'M A GRANDFATHER!" He then shouted, jumping out of the chair.

Both his friends could help but laugh at his enthusiasm. "Settle down, Jay," Kon half-heartedly admonished his friend, still grinning himself. "I get that you're happy, but people are going to start asking questions if they hear you and see a teenager crowing about he's a grandfather to the world."

"Let them!" Jason told him, still smiling, still laughing.

The mirth continued on for a bit before the current situation settled back into their minds. Kon had procured two more chairs for Donna and himself, as it was clear that this talk would be going on for a while.

"I'm glad things worked out for Dam and Helena. And as for Warren…Terry and Dana as well?" Jason guessed.

Donna nodded, still smiling. "Carrie's diner is still going strong, by the way. There are already plans in the works to go international. Matty is doing fine too — he's graduated from Robin to Red Robin. He's now the protector of Bludhaven in Cassandra's stead. She's fine too, by the way. Retired about five years back and is now content being a mentor to future heroes."

Jason nodded absentmindedly along with every word. "What about Penelope?" he asked of his youngest, and sole biological child.

"She's doing fine too. She became Wonder Girl when she was twelve." Donna paused, then said, "And since I'm now dead…I guess she'll soon be Wonder Woman. Provided she wins the tournament and all, which I'm certain she will."

"Wonder Woman…" Jason muttered, this time in awe. "God, I can't believe it…" His son, Batman, and now his daughter would be Wonder Woman. How did this happen? This was more than he could have ever expected.

"What about everyone else?" Kon asked, curious.

And like that, the good cheer on Donna's face drained away, marred by grief. "Wallace died two years after you did, Jason," she quietly confessed, "The Speed Force was damaged again by Thawne and he…he gave his life to restore it. Irey succeeded him as the Flash."

The news of their friend's death hit both men hard. The elation of his family's prosperity left Jason as he ran a hand through his hair, thinking of the cocky but good-hearted man that he had worked with for most of his career as Batman. Kon was similarly upset, shielding his eyes with his hand and inhaling a deep sigh.

"…Anyone else?" Jason finally asked after a moment of silence.

Donna gripped the armrests of her chair. "Kyle."

Jason's head snapped up. "Kyle?" he asked, voice weak.

His friend nodded glumly. "Six years after Wallace. Eight years after you. Two years before me. He used his life force to restore something as well — in this case, the Source. His ring was inherited by Martin."

"God…" Jason leaned back into his chair, staring up at the ceiling.

Kyle and him didn't start off on the right foot, much like Kon and him, but their love-hate friendship was still a friendship, and a long-enduring one. After Kon had died, Jason would even go as far as to say that Kyle was the closest friend he had left outside of the Family. To hear that he had died, when his own son Saarko couldn't have been older than nine or ten…

"Anyone else?" Kon asked quietly, for them both.

Donna shook her head. "No, thankfully. Kaldur is still sticking around, though he told me he planned on retiring by next year, passing on the Aquaman mantle to Prince Arthur. And of course, M'gann is every bit involved in the game as always."

"Well that's something, at least," Kon commented, looking much older than his youthful appearance would suggest.

"Yeah," Donna agreed, sounding much like him: old and worn.

Because that's what all three of them were in the end — three tired veteran superheroes. Three heroes who had just died and come back to life in a past that still seemed like a distant memory. Three heroes who had lost more over the course of their lives than the average person could ever dare to comprehend.

"So what have you two been up to?" Donna questioned them both, crossing her own arms in wonder and a bit of amusement.

Kon shrugged. "Nothing much for me. I've only been back for two weeks. Jason, however, has been a busy little worker bee."

"Like always?"

"Like always."

"Ha. Ha. You two are hilarious," Jason stated blandly.

Donna leaned her right elbow against the arm rest, holding one cheek in the palm of her hand. "What did he do, Kon?"

Kon hummed. "Died again, for one."

The Amazon blinked at that before shooting Jason an admonishing glare. " _Jason!_ "

"It was for Damian and Tim! And I came back, didn't I!"

"That is no excuse! You need to be more careful!"

The two began to bicker earnestly while Kon chuckled and shook his head. "Now this? This brings back memories."

Both of his friends stopped their arguing. "Shut up, Kon," they said as one.

If anything, that caused him to chuckle even more. "I'm glad to see that even after ten years, you two are still on the same page."

Jason and Donna both blinked at that, before glancing at each other again. They both immediately shied away, red in the face. Kon stopped his chuckling, and sighed. "I see you two need to work some things out. I'll be going then. We'll finish this talk later."

"Wait, what—"

"Kon!"

Kon cheekily waved at them both before using his tactile telekinesis to speed out the door and shut it close. He held it down with his powers, whistling and waiting for the shouts and the pounding to eventually die down, using his superhearing to make sure they weren't faking it. After several minutes, the struggle stopped and he heard the two settle down back into their chairs. Content, he stopped with the telekinesis and headed back to the living room, a skip in his step.

* * *

The moment he arrived back to the living room, he instantly became the center of attention. He raised an eyebrow at all the stares, leaning against the edge of the door. "What?" he asked.

"Where are Jason and Donna?" Diana asked, lips set in a firm line.

"Talking about some things," Kon answered her, shrugging with one arm. "Personal things," he elaborated.

There was a moment as everyone processed that statement.

"Oh," Dick said, summing things up for them all. Next to him, Roy took a hand to his face. Kon couldn't help but frown at that. It really was a pity — from what he remembered Roy and Donna had been straddling on the line between friends with benefits and an actual relationship around this time. Now he had pretty much lost her without any actual say in the matter, thanks to this random twist of fate.

He could see Batman frowning from the corner of his eye, and frowned even harder. Hopefully that wouldn't be an issue either. He knew things were different now, being in the past and all, and Bruce certainly had no real control over Jason despite what the law said, but it would still hurt his best friend if his father disapproved of his relationship with Donna. Not that it would _stop_ him from dating Donna (even if they couldn't do all the physical stuff yet due to their current physical ages, or even be in a public relationship until Jason's body reached the age of consent), but it would still hurt.

Bruce then sighed. "I need to talk to Jason," he said, moving to leave the room.

Kon stretched his arm out, to the other side of the doorway, preventing him from crossing them the threshold. "Sorry, but I can't let you do that."

There was a collective gasp. Kon tried not to roll his eyes. In his younger years, he might've been like them, but he was not in his younger years. He had been Superman for eight years of his life, had gotten married and had a kid before dying in epic battle against an evil Kryptonian from another universe. Most of all, he had been dealing with Bruce and his brood for practically _all_ his life. And if there's anything he had learned in all those years, it was that, contrary to popular belief, the first Batman was not this uber-terrifying demon from the pits of hell, but rather this intimidating paranoid man-child with way too much money and time on his hands.

He respected Bruce, yes, and he always would, but he had long lost his reverence and fear of the man. Because that was what he was: a man.

" _Superboy_ _…_ " Batman growled.

Kon gave him a flat look, before putting on his best 'Superman is disappointed' face. Bruce held steady with his glare for a while, but in the end he must have figured it wasn't worth the trouble and stepped back. This elicited another round of gasps from everyone, causing Kon to actually roll his eyes.

"Look," he finally said, "I know there are important things we _all_ need to talk about. But I watched those two idiots dance around each other for _six years_. I am _not_ going through that again. So you all are going to wait until they talk things out, and when they get back we can talk about the whole time travel business and the implications there of. Agreed?" He gave them all the 'Superman is disappointed' face for good measure. It wasn't long before they capitulated. "Good."

"This is going to be a growing trend with the three of you, isn't it?" Clark asked in a resigned tone.

Kon shrugged. "Probably. I guess you better get used to it."

No one looked happy to hear that. Kon didn't care.

It wasn't like they could do anything about it anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Donna's here, yeah! And now we finally resolve all the romantic threads of Jason's love life.
> 
> I hoped you enjoy the dynamic of the Neo-Trinity. I've been waiting to write about those three interacting together. I wanted to highlight the difference between them and the originals — while the originals are close, they aren't quite involved in each other's lives like those three are. It helps that Jason, Kon, and Donna knew each other long before they ended up becoming the Trinity, so there's a certain level of familiarity and intimacy that the originals don't have. At least, not to the same extent. And that's not even getting into Jason and Donna's relationship.
> 
> But now, people are beginning to realize all the dangerous implications of having three time-traveling heroes back in the past — especially since all three have no idea how they got here. It's the calm before the storm, and everyone knows it.
> 
> Next chapter: an interlude, about Jason and Donna.


	6. Interlude: Jason and Donna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _‘Call it dumb luck, but baby, you and I  
>  Can't even mess it up, though we both tried  
> No, it won't always go the way we planned it  
> But the wolves came and went and we're still standing’  
> _  
> 
> 
> The story of Jason Todd and Donna Troy, and the love that almost was. 

The first time Jason Todd meets Donna Troy, he's in awe.

He doesn't want to be at Titans Tower, be reminded of how inferior he is to Dick Grayson by Dick's friends. But Dick is apologetic, and desperate, and Jason hates seeing that kicked puppy look on his face, so he goes anyway. If Dick wants to play big brother to assuage his guilt, who is Jason to stop him?

Despite all that, things go surprisingly well. They're nice enough, and some of them he likes more than he should. But it isn't until he meets Donna that his face brightens. Wonder Woman is unapologetically his favorite superhero, and meeting her kid sister and fellow hero feels like a dream come true.

Donna, on her part, finds Dick's kid brother and his celebrity crush adorable. No matter how much Jason plays up the tough guy image, she can see the good in his heart, the softness in his eyes. He has been hurt and broken, but still so desperately wants to do good, and she can't help but be touched.

When it's time for Jason to go home, she ruffles his hair and tells him to come back any time.

* * *

The next time they meet, Death has touched them both.

Though it has scarred Jason more, and the more time they spend, the more Donna begins to wonder if that young boy, the one who used to smile so shyly up at her, is still there. As time goes on she realizes that boy is still very much there, just buried under untold amounts of grief and pain.

Such feelings are not unknown to her either. She has endured a thousand lifetimes of tragedy, lost a man she loved and the child they had together. Death was supposed to be the end of such suffering, and yet it only has brought more to both of them. So, in spite of herself, Donna doesn't stop trying to reach Jason, and slowly but surely, she finds him. And in turn, he finds her.

Their friendship is dusty but still strong. When they part, it's with a grunt and a smile, and even as more of the Red Hood's exploits reach her ears, she can't help but wish him well.

* * *

Fittingly, it is death that reunites Jason with Donna a year later.

Roy Harper is dead. Dead, and gone, and while they never quite found their way back to each other, he would always hold a piece of Donna's heart. For Jason, it is very much same, for Roy was the closest Jason had ever come to a best friend. The loss cuts into him in a way he hadn't thought was possible since his first death.

He's carrying flowers to the grave when he sees her.

She's tracing the lines etched into the gravestone when his voice calls out to her.

"Donna?"

"Jason?"

They stare at each other. They stare, and stare, and suddenly tears are in Donna's eyes, and when she collapses Jason is there to catch her. He hold her close, buries her head into his broad chest, and whispers comfort into her ears.

"He's not coming back, is he?" She asks him, already knowing the answer.

He stares down at her, then shakes his head sadly. She trembles and she sobs, and allows herself to break.

* * *

After that, they spend more time together. Usually with Dick, though sometimes it's just them. The loss of Roy, the reconciliation with his family, has tempered the rage in Jason's heart, and every time they meet Donna can see more of the boy she was so fond of years ago. When Bruce Wayne dies, Jason is the first one Donna comforts after Dick, is standing side-by-side with him when Dick finally takes up his birthright as the next Batman.

Jason has given up killing by that point, and slowly the Red Hood's reputation is rehabilitated amongst the superhero community. Donna feels more comfortable working with him again, and they go on more than their share of missions, again often with Dick but sometimes just them and a few others. Roy's ghost is there, but not between them, but beside them, the sadness fading into love and fondness. Because he may be gone, but they will never ever forget him.

And then, five years after Bruce's death, Dick dies too.

The shadow of grief hangs over everyone. They're both at the funeral, and both hold up Kori as she collapses in despair. Donna cannot take another loss like that, not after Wally three years prior and Lillith the year after. Her mind drifts to that terrifying future, where she broke again and wasn't able to piece herself back together, and she shivers. No. Another loss would destroy her, bring about that future, and she refuses to let that happen.

She returns to Themyscira, only staying long enough to say goodbye to those that still mean something to her.

Jason…

Jason becomes the night.

* * *

The wheels of fate continue to turn. Ten years pass before they find each other again.

Clark Kent has been dead for two years, and his half-human clone/brother/son is Superman now. With Jason's ascension to Batman years before that, there is a feeling in the air, a growing belief that Diana's time as Wonder Woman is soon coming to an end. A belief rendered true when Queen Hippolyta dies in battle.

Diana, as her eldest daughter, is next-in-line for the throne, and she dare not shirk her duty. But Man's World needs Wonder Woman, so another must take up her mantle. A tournament is held, and so many Amazons feel sure of themselves until Donna Troy enters the arena to great aplomb.

She ran to the island to heal, but she stayed longer than she should have, this she knows. She trained for a war that never came, and used it as an excuse every time Cassie Sandsmark came to visit her. And Cassie, after one too many lies, screams into her face that the only person she is fooling is herself, and they part on bad terms.

And then, the war does come, and Cassie dies, and finally Donna admits that she was right.

So, three years later, she decides it is time. For Donna has mourned for long enough, her soul not quite healed from the losses she has endured but patched in a way that the wounds no longer ache. She misses Man's World, misses the friends she left behind, and still so very much wants to do good. So she enters, and she wins. Diana gifts her new armor, new weapons, and the Lasso of Truth, and Donna leaves Themyscira once again for the shores of the outside world.

She's recognized immediately, and an envoy — Jessica Cruz — is sent for her, to take her place with the Justice League. She accepts with as much grace as she can muster, and when she appears, it is to a roaring crowd with so many familiar faces that she can barely keep track of them all. As friend after friend goes to greet her, to congratulate her, she feels herself overwhelmed.

The Watchtower has been rebuilt so many times that one would expect the layout to have changed more than it has. Donna finds a hiding place midst the chaos far easier than she should, and releases a breath, long and tired. She loves them all — she must — but sometimes, it is simply too much.

A glass of water is handed to her, and she takes it without a glance at the giver, aching too much for a sip.

As she finishes, her eyes widen, and she whips her head around.

"Batman?"

"Wonder Woman."

His voice is low, lower than Dick's, but without the gravel of Bruce's. And while Donna may have secluded herself within the limits of Paradise Island, she did not leave herself bereft of news of the outside world. She knows of the tragic fates of Tim Drake, of Damian Wayne. And with that, she knows that this man, this Batman, can only be one person.

" _Jason_ ," she says, and there is relief, because Jason, he understands. Perhaps better than anyone else she knows.

"Donna," He smiles, and they're hugging now, and Donna finally feels like she can breathe.

* * *

It's easy for them to fall into a rhythm after that. Jason and her, and Conner too, they've known each other long enough to make it work. The others that sit at the table (Wallace West, Bart's successor, _Wally_ _'s_ successor; Jackson Hyde, who prefers his Atlantean name of Kaldur'ahm, because Garth has found his home in Atlantis now, with his family; and sweet M'gann M'orzz), they are close, but not quite, not like the three of them are. For there is a bond between them, a bond of knowing they are the legacy of the three greatest heroes the world has ever known, and with a desperation to live up to everything those heroes set out to do. Only Kyle Rayner can claim to hold the same bond, having to live up to such similar expectations, but he keeps himself apart and aloft, devoted to protecting space as much as the planet upon which he was born.

With every victory, they continue the legacy of their mentors with satisfaction. They even take time to train each other's proteges, Jason with their minds, Conner with their hearts, and Donna with their bodies. Their families become closer, close enough for even Jason to allow them to operate in Gotham with minimal observation. It is a gesture of trust, a beautiful one, and they know from the pride in Diana's eyes that Clark and Bruce would approve too.

Eventually, that leads to them creating something truly amazing. When Jason first reveals his tentative idea of a formal training system for heroes, Donna is immediately intrigued, and she knows Conner is too. They dive in head first, bouncing around ideas until they've got almost all their bases covered. Then they present it to the other Founders (including Diana), and once they have their approval and their aid in devising the rest, they reveal it to the JLA and the rest of the superhero world. It's controversial, but it has enough support to go through, and slowly they're winning over the holdouts inch by inch.

Yet, it is outside the world of heroes and villains that their relationship truly flourishes. The three of them go out to at least once a week. They sleep over at each other's houses, eat each other's food (Jason's, more often than not), join each other for birthdays and holidays and everything in-between. Jason's beloved children address her as Aunt Donna. They love her, and she loves them.

But for Jason and Donna, it is different. Dick Grayson's ghost, much like Roy Harper's, is not between them, but besides. And as much as they mourned him (or continue to mourn him, in Jason's case), he is no longer a factor in their relationship. And, as Donna looks back, he was never quite as big as one as they both liked to believe.

Jason is no longer 'Dick's kid brother'. Donna is no long 'Dick's best (girl) friend'. Those labels mean nothing now. They simply know each other now as Jason Todd and Donna Troy, and that shouldn't matter until it does.

Because Jason isn't a boy anymore. He's a man. A very attractive man, who has overcome great heartache and adversity and a bloody past to become a hero beloved throughout the world. A good man, a man any woman would be lucky to have.

And Donna. Donna is a woman. An impossibly beautiful woman. A woman who has gone through her own share of sorrows, her own share of pain, and come out all the more stronger for it. A hero just as adored as the sister that came before her.

And if she had to love a man, she'd rather it be a good one, because surely a good one would not break her heart like so many others had before.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happens next.

* * *

Love is a villain. For love creeps onto people when they least expect it.

Jason Todd realized he loved Donna Troy on a relatively mundane day. They're in the Watchtower, leading a training session for the current generation of the Teen Titans. It's sparring practice, and he and her trade off on the demonstrations.

It's Donna's turn, and she has Damian Kent, Dam-El, Jon's adoptive son/brother/whatever, in a hold. And she's flipping the boy over, a beautiful throw, he's looking at her, at how her face glistens, how her eyes shine, how her lips are pressed together into a heart's bow, and he can't help but think _I love you_.

When the thought passes, it takes all his self-control not to blanch.

A week later, when he sees Artemis and thinks of Donna as they make love, he knows that is the end of them. She tells him so a month later, of the yearning she suddenly has for Themyscira, the desire to stay there for reasons unexplained, and they part, no longer lovers, but friends.

* * *

Donna Troy realizes she loves Jason Todd while in the throes of battle. Another invasion, one that is so badly-planned that Jason drops Batman's serious demeanor, just for a moment, to joke about it with dry, morbid, sarcasm. And Donna, she can't help it. She laughs while cutting off the head of a particularly annoying war machine, and thinks _I love you_.

She almost stumbles when the thought finishes. An invader tries to take advantage, and she cuts it down a second later.

For Donna, this is not an end, but a beginning. Of what, she dare not imagine, for reality so rarely lived up to fantasy, even in their world. Even so, it does not change the truth she now has to face.

The truth they _both_ have to face.

Jason Todd and Donna Troy are in love.

With that realization, they do the only thing they can do.

They fight it every step of the way.

* * *

They start avoiding each other.

Artemis may no longer be factor, but that is hardly the only issue, nor even the most important one. Their working relationship, their _friendship_ , is far too important to them, to the Justice League, to the world, to risk on this. They have each other, care for each other, and that has to be enough. Whatever attraction is between them, they cannot afford to indulge.

It holds and holds until Conner dies, and Jon has no choice but to shed the mantle of Nightwing and take his place as the third Superman. Jason and Donna only have so long to mourn before they have to pick up the slack while Jon tries to settle himself into the position. The tension builds, and builds, and _builds_ , until…

It's late at night. There's barely anyone in the Watchtower. Jason is in the gym, shirtless, just wearing a pair of sweats, practicing a kata when Donna comes in just a sports bra and sweats of her own. They take one look at each other, and against his better judgment, Jason asks for a spar. They take off their shoes, go to the mats, and they fight.

It is a close fight, for they are two of the greatest combatants in the world. Donna is an Amazon, the younger sister of their Queen and their greatest champion. Jason has honed his body to perfection, has trained it to be his second greatest weapon (his mind, obviously, is the first). His sister is the greatest warrior of the modern age, and he is one of the only people in the world that can match her. It's close, because it can be nothing else but that. It continues, until…

They don't remember who wins.

Just the kiss under the stars, and everything after.

* * *

They don't talk about it for months.

Then the Gentle Man comes calling, asking for another day, and Jason and Donna find themselves beholden to a promise their mentors made years ago, and cannot find it in themselves to renege on it. At least this time, they know and are prepared for what is to come. They face the hordes with grim determination, holding on as the years pass.

It doesn't take long for them to fall into each other's beds, to find comfort with each other's bodies, their shared heat. But they still don't talk, because they don't know what to say. That is, until a particularly hard day, where they share another night. Donna is resting on Jason's bare chest, staring at the walls of their refuge, Jason is staring at the ceiling, and both of them are wide awake.

She turns his head, and looks at him. "I don't want this to end," she confesses.

He opens his mouth, a perfect 'o', before he lets out a resigned sigh. "Neither do I," he admits.

It seems that is enough.

The Gentle Man relieves them, continues his duty, and they return to theirs. Their relationship is still something undefined, but it's _there_ now, enough for them to hide it away like a dirty little secret. They steal moments, as many as they can, have dates in their civvies in far-off corners of the world, where no one can recognize them. They pretend that their friends and family don't know (they do, everyone does), and hold onto it, hoping to never let go.

They aren't ashamed. Or afraid. But this, whatever this is, it's something only for them. It's something sacred and empowering, enchanting them, leaving them utterly breathless. Every smile, every kiss, is a treasure to behold. Together, it's like all the worries of the world fall away, lost and misplaced until they have to be found again.

Together, they are the happiest they have ever been.

Of course, the winds of destiny continue to blow.

* * *

At age forty-eight, Jason learns he has lung cancer.

He tells Cass. Then Steph, Babs, Duke, and Luke. Followed by Carrie and Helena. Jon. Kyle.

Not Terry, or Matty.

Not Donna.

He breaks up with Donna instead, gives her some tripe about how he needs to focus on Terry more, which is true but not completely. It ends in a screaming match, she wants to _know_ and he won't say, and at the end of it all she doesn't speak to him for months. Just as well, because Terry is ready to take the tests, the tests that Damian never managed to complete before his death. And if he passes them all, then Batman is his, and Jason will most likely never see Donna again.

They don't speak, and then Terry passes, and then, in front of the Founders of the Justice League (honorary; Diana is the only real Founder still alive), formally passes the mantle to him. He announces his reason for it, explains his diagnosis, and then walks away.

He doesn't dare look back.

* * *

A year later, Donna comes to him in the dead of night. Jason is weaker in body than ever before, but when he sees her, he feels stronger than the gods themselves.

The first thing she does is slap him across the face. He doesn't begrudge her that; it is perhaps the most deserving slap he has ever had in his life.

Then she kisses him. Then they make love.

As they lay together in the afterglow, Jason says, "I'm sorry." So very sorry, the sorriest he's been since Damian's death.

And Donna, she looks at him and says, "I'm sorry too." She's sorry she didn't push for this sooner, harder, that she walked away instead of trying to stay.

So much time, lost, and all they have are their laments.

"Take care of Terry for me. Please." Because the burden of Batman was so much more than a boy his age could bear alone.

"Of course, Jason."

She would've done it anyway. She loves Terry like he were her own son (all of Jason's children, really), and whatever issues she had with his father, that would never change.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

It was the last time they would say it.

Jason Todd had a lifetime full of regrets. But in that moment, there was nothing he regretted more than not putting a ring on the finger of Donna Troy the first chance he had.

* * *

Months later, Jason is dead.

Donna doesn't attend the funeral. Or any of the memorial services.

She goes back to Themyscira instead. Spends a week in mourning, praying to the Greek Pantheon for the safety of her lover's soul. For this death hurts more than all the others combined, and despite the words of her sister, the rivets of blood that her fingernails draw from her hands show what Donna knows in the deepest parts of her heart: she will never love again.

But she goes back anyway. She goes back because she still has other friends, who are also in pain and need her presence. She goes back because the world needs Wonder Woman, and she, like her sister, cannot shirk her duty even while enduring another of the greatest of tragedies. She goes back because she is Donna Troy, a hero, and nothing in the world would ever change that.

(She goes back because she made the love of her life a promise, and she had every intention of keeping it.

No matter what the cost may be.)

* * *

Ten years after Jason's death, Donna is poised to join him.

The years are hard, but eventually she moves on. She helps Terry, helps him grow into the man Jason always knew he would be. She trains Penelope, who looks so much like her father at times that there are days where Donna can't bear to look at her. But she trains her still, and Penelope becomes the new Wonder Girl, and then Troia, and Donna loves her as her own, as much as she loves Terry.

She does her duty as Wonder Woman, as the champion of Themyscira. She goes to battle with a smile on her face, saving lives, inspiring others. She protects the world time and again, against the many beyond who seek to destroy it all. For she is Donna Troy, a hero, and she would not, _could not_ , allow herself to fall into despair.

But as far as her heart goes, Donna finds her intuition is correct.

She does not love again.

A month after Terry introduces her to his son Warren, two weeks after Penelope reveals her engagement to Diana's son, Donna's nephew, they are in the midst of another invasion. A dangerous one, planned years in advance, with competent soldiers and commanders throughout.

Donna fights, of course. She fights and she fights, more than she has in years. She fights and she falls and she gets up and she keeps fighting. She is a terror on the battlefield, a gleam of silvered red and blue and black that cuts down enemies before they can even move to attack. Everyone that saw her that day will remember it as her most glorious battle, the last stand of one of the greatest heroes the world has ever known.

Yet, when a trio of lasers come for Terry, Donna doesn't hesitate. She jumps in front of him, deflects them with her bracers, but gets another one through the chest for her troubles (and boy, isn't that ironic). Terry catches her.

He's screaming at her. What, she cannot hear. Not anymore. He takes off his cowl ( _how foolish, Jason taught you better than that_ ) and when she sees his face, all she can think about is how much he looks like his father.

(She isn't talking about Bruce.)

Donna thinks of Diana, and how her sister brought wonder to her. Of how Donna's ever-changing origin nearly shattered the bond between them, and of the love that filled the cracks in-between. Of how desperately Donna wished to make her proud, and how she hoped she succeeded.

Donna thinks of Cassie. Plucky Cassie, and her unbending determination to be a hero. Of how, even when they were farther apart than they had ever been, Cassie still wanted to help her, to bring her back into the world she had turned her back on. Of how much she wished she made Cassie proud too.

Donna thinks of the Titans, of Dick and Wally and Garth and Lillith and Kori and so many others that filled her life with so much joy. Of how their deaths and departures cut into her, and how much she very much wants to see them all again.

Donna thinks of her students, of her _children_. Of how much she wished she could stay and watch them all continue to live and grow. Of how each and every single one never failed to make her proud, of how blessed she was to have them in her life.

Donna thinks of another Terry, Terry Long, and their son, their Robert, of how she kept losing them time and time again. Of how she divorced one then buried both and how she sometimes hates herself for not missing them more like she should.

Donna thinks of Kyle, of how they brought each other comfort during a time of great pain, with the losses that tore into them until they wondered if there was anything left. Of how, even though it fell apart towards the end, he would always have a place in her heart just for that.

Donna thinks of Roy, of how he made her smile, of how he made her heart soar. Of how, even after her love for him faded into fond memories, a warm feeling that no longer inflamed her with grief and passion, she still found herself wishing he could've lived, if only just a little longer.

And yet…and yet, her last thoughts are of Jason, of how much she loved him. Of how much she _still_ loves him. Of how good he could be without thinking of it, of how much it pained her that he failed to see it. Of how she can't look at a single one of his children, adoptive or otherwise, and not think of him. Of how there has not been a single day since he died where she did not feel bereft of his presence, of his love.

The happiest moments of her life had been with him.

Always, _always_ with him.

(But it could've been more. So much more.)

She smiles, and lets herself fall back into Death's embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I blame you readers for this. I was thinking about Jason's romantic potential, who he was going to end up with, and this came out of it. I thought it would make an interesting story, and already had plans to introduce a new time traveler later down the line (because Jason needs at least one friend back, dammit). And then one of you mentioned Donna, and here we are.
> 
> This is the love story of Jason Todd and Donna Troy, and how they almost had something of a happy ending but didn't. Of course, now that Donna has come back in time, that's going to change. They still have a lot of shit to hash out, but they'll get there. Now, the more interesting part is how _everyone else_ reacts to this. All the men who had a thing for Donna have to live with the fact that they just lost her to Dick Grayson's kid brother, while all the girls who have crushes on Jason are left heartbroken. Then there's Dick, who is confused. So very confused. And that's not even getting into the rest of the Bats.
> 
> This might be the last chapter in a while. I just went through my buffer and I would like to build it up again. In the meantime, I suggest updating the TV Tropes page.
> 
> Next chapter: Jason and Donna, again.


	7. Special Interlude: When Terry Met Dana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terry meets Dana Tan as Terry McGinnis.
> 
> It takes a little while for her to meet Terry Wayne.

Dana Tan was a keeper.

Long dark hair and alluring eyes, with a slim, curvaceous figure and a smile that could light up the whole world. Good family that came from good money — not Wayne money but certainly enough that college was not a worry. Smart. Sensible. Kind. A girl with her whole future ahead of her.

Dana Tan was the kind of girl that grows up into a woman a guy marries.

So inevitably, being in high school, she got her heart broken.

A _lot_.

* * *

"ARGH!" Dana stomped away from the party, grabbing her coat and bag from the rack along the way.

"Dana, wait!" Nelson Nash, top bully and self-proclaimed kingpin of Hamilton Hill High ran after her, leaving behind his on-and-off girlfriend, local Queen Bee Bobbi "Blade" Sommer. Blade, for her part, looked fairly apathetic and uncaring about how Nelson had abandoned her.

Dana didn't bother to look back. She's done with Nelson. She can't believe she ever gave him a chance. When she felt her former date grab her arm, she pulled it away with uncharacteristic harshness, leveling Nelson a nasty glare before leaving the house of her classmate and into the cold, starry Gotham night.

Since she came to the party in Nelson's car, she'll have to walk to the nearest bus stop to get home. Even with heels, Dana can't bring herself to care. Instead, she steeled herself and walked to her destination, head held high. She made it to the stop, just in time to catch the next bus, and sat herself in the nearest empty spot she can find.

The bus continued on its route, and Dana just holds herself, waiting for her stop to come so she can finally go home. Thus, she was completely unprepared for the lurch the bus goes into, nor the bulky body the nearly tripped over her legs in its attempt to place itself in the empty seat next to her.

"Oh my God, I am _so_ sorry," a deep voice apologized profusely.

Dana dusted herself off, straightening out her dress. "It's alright—" Her voice suddenly stopped as she looked up and spotted the owner of the voice. Her mouth goes dry.

He's hot. Like, _really_ hot. Short dark hair, pale skin, and the iciest blue eyes she's ever seen. Strong chin, broad shoulders combined with a lean, tapered waist, with his clothes doing little to hide his muscular form. It's almost illegal, how good-looking he is.

"Mind if I sit here?" Mr. Handsome asked, and Dana can't help but nod her assent slowly.

"Thanks," He smiled, and Dana could swear she felt her heart skip a beat. He sat down, settling his bag down on the ground before leaning back. He held out his hand. "Hi. I'm Terry McGinnis."

"Dana Tan." _Keep it smooth, Dana. Keep it smooth._

"I'm sorry, but I take this bus every night, and this is the first time I've seen you here," Terry said sheepishly.

Dana smiled, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, well, my friend lives down the street and he was having a party. Next thing you know, here I am."

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

Dana's smile fell. "I did at first, but then I saw my date flirting with his ex."

"Oh," and now Terry looked sympathetic, "That big of a jerk, huh?"

"Yeah," her shoulders slumped, "But I only have myself to blame. There were other girls and rumors, but he was so charming and he had a nice smile so I thought 'Why not?' and found out the answer the hard way. Lucky me."

"Hey, better now than later. That way you won't waste any more time on him."

"That's true, but honestly, I wish I hadn't wasted any time on him at all. I still have to see him at school everyday after all."

"Well, you can't have everything," Terry shrugged helplessly, "And school won't last forever. You'll only have to see him for about a year or so before you graduate and move on with your life."

"True," Dana conceded. "Speaking of schools, where do you go? I go to Hamilton Hill High."

Terry smiled awkwardly. "Gotham Academy."

"Really?" Dana blurted out in surprise. Gotham Academy was, well, _Gotham Academy_. It was almost as old as the city itself, and incredibly exclusive. Only Gotham's elite, whether in brains, brawn, or just plain old blood and money, went there. Even Dana's family, as well-off and connected as they were, could only dream of sending one of their own to that school.

"Yeah, but it's nothing special. Just nicer sports equipment and stuff," he looked a bit uncomfortable now, "I'm only going there because my family has been going there for generations. It's not really different from any other school."

"Still, that's pretty—" Dana spotted something familiar from the corner of her eye, "Wait, that's my stop!"

She stood up, quickly stepping over Terry's legs, her bag hanging by the crook of her arm. "Sorry Terry, but I got to go! It was nice meeting you!"

So intent on heading home, Dana didn't hear Terry call out her name as she exited the bus.

* * *

The following Monday saw Dana finishing the school day with her best friend, Chelsea Cunningham. Despite how she left the party, she's in a surprisingly good mood — something that Chelsea does not miss.

"What happened?" she asked, once her curiosity won out.

"What makes you think something happened?" Dana asked instead of answering, hands fingering her bag.

Chelsea gave her a flat look. "The last time I saw you, you were storming out of Howard's after the thing with Nelson. Now you're here all peppy and stuff even though your date ended horribly. _Something_ happened."

Dana shrugged, a small smile on her lips. They stepped outside of the building to the front of the school, and her good mood immediately evaporated. Standing by his car, clearly waiting for her, was Nelson Nash. The moment he saw her, Nelson perked up and quickly made his way to her before she could find a way to escape.

"Dana! Why'd you ditch me at the party?" He demanded the moment he got close.

"Really Nelson? Going to try and make me look like the bad guy?" Dana scowled at him, "You just brought me there to make Blade jealous. And seeing how she isn't hanging off your arm right now, I'm guessing it didn't work."

"Come on, babe," Nelson tried to grab her by the shoulders, but she quickly shook him off, "It wasn't like that!"

"It was, and everyone here knows it. So forget it, Nelson — we are not, and never will be, a thing."

Nelson was about to argue otherwise, but before he could, another, unfamiliar voice cut in. "Dana?"

Everyone turned around to see Terry standing a little way's away. He's wearing a Gotham Academy uniform with his bag slung around his shoulder and a jacket hanging off his forearm. Around him, the students of Hamilton Hill High were whispering, wondering why a GA student was here. The girls were particularly intrigued, and once Dana noticed that, she felt a pit growing in her gut.

"Terry!" Dana called out, Nelson quickly forgotten. "What are you doing here?" She walked away from Nelson, towards the new arrival, and the whispers grew more furious.

"You forgot your jacket on the bus the other night," Terry said sheepishly, holding out the garment so Dana could take it. "I had some free time after school before I had to go home, so I figured I'd drop this off to you first before I left. I didn't have any way to contact you, but I remembered you went to school here, so…"

Dana took the jacket gratefully, beaming up at him. "Thanks. That was sweet of you."

Terry flushed a little. "It was nothing. Just the polite thing to do."

There was a loud crash. Both of them startled, looking around to see that Nelson had deliberately knocked over a trash can and was now stomping off back to his car. Everyone watched him as he quickly hopped into the driver's seat and drove away. Blinking, Terry and Dana turned their attentions back to each other.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing," Dana brushed it off, "Nothing important at least."

"Right," And now the awkwardness returned to his posture, and Dana couldn't help but find it endearing. "Well, I better go now."

"Wait!" He couldn't leave yet! "I don't have your number!"

Terry blinked. "You want my number?"

"Well, yeah. How else are we going to see each other again?"

"You mean, like hanging out?"

"Sure. Or maybe…" Dana trailed off, blushing as she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Oh," Realization dawned on Terry's face, "Like a date." He smiled. "I'd like that."

Dana's smile widened. "So would I."

They quickly traded numbers, and before she knew it Dana was waving Terry goodbye as he drove away on his motorcycle. He returned the wave as he merged back into Gotham's streets, speeding into the distance. Dana watched him go with a heartfelt sigh.

"So _that_ _'s_ what happened," an amused Chelsea said from behind her, smirking.

"Shut up, Chels."

* * *

And just like that, it began. Texts before and after school. Pictures of how their days were going. And, inevitably, a not-date was arranged. Dana wanted to remove the 'not' part, but she feared it might be too soon for that, and anything that might have convinced her otherwise bowed away when Terry almost canceled because of a need to babysit his younger brother. Instead, Dana invited him along as well, and they headed over to Neo-Amusement Mile for a day out.

The old Amusement Mile had long been torn down after the previous Joker had been captured and imprisoned in Arkham permanently. The latest Joker hadn't taken that well when his predecessor died, and tried to destroy the renovated one in retaliation during his initial rampage. Despite his best efforts, however, he had been bested by Batman and Robin, and after his plot to launch the city into space had been foiled, dumped into Arkham, never to leave. _Good riddance,_ Dana couldn't help but think.

Matty McGinnis was a precocious, polite child of eleven years old. He's a dead ringer for Terry, though his eyes were a dark brown, almost black, in place of Terry's striking icy blue. Dana fell in love with him immediately, in part because of how unnaturally mature he was. He was kind to Dana, and intuitive as well, seeing as he made sure to give his older brother some time alone with her whenever he can.

But as much as Dana liked him and his brother, her tentative affection paled in comparison to the love the two had for each other. Terry, Dana observed, _adored_ his younger brother. The two weren't hesitant to poke fun at each other, but she can see the small smiles they exchange, the laughter. Terry was indulgent with him when he can, and when he can't he was quick to soothe any self-perceived slight. It almost made her jealous, seeing that sibling bond between them. Her brother and her had never shared such closeness, and never would.

When they had another moment alone, however, she can't help but comment on it.

* * *

"You're a good brother," Dana told her not-boyfriend, while they're watching Matty riding around on a carousel.

Terry glanced at her, and smiled softly, with just the smallest hint of bittersweetness. "You think so?"

"I know so," Dana replied, a slight laugh chasing her voice. "I have an older brother, and while we get along, we're not close. He's never treated me the way you treat Matty. I got to admit, I'm a little jealous."

Terry nodded absentmindedly, sighing. "Thanks, Dana. I'm glad you think that. One of the only things I've ever really wanted to do was to be a good brother to him. To take care of him."

Dana blinked. _That sounds a little ominous_. "Why?" she cannot help but ask.

Her not-date smiled sadly. "When I was ten and Matty was four, our biological parents were murdered."

She gasped. "Oh, Terry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry into something so personal."

"It's fine, Dana," Terry soothed her. "It was a long time ago, and we've made peace with it."

Dana calmed down, but she still felt guilty. Terry seemed to sense that, judging by the way he gently took her hand. "It's fine, Dana. I promise," Terry said, sighing lightly.

The girl swallowed and nodded. "If that's the case, then how did you end up at GA?"

Terry scratched his cheek. "After our parents' death, we were taken in by social services. But…I was scared they would separate us, so we ran away and lived in Park Row by ourselves for a couple of weeks. That's how we met Dad — he found us trying to jack the fuel rods off his car, and instead of calling the cops on us, he took us home and fed us. A week later, he adopted us and has been raising us ever since."

"Wow," Dana said, touched. "Your dad sounds like a great guy."

"He is," Terry agreed. "He gave us a family again. I now have two older sisters, an aunt, and a slew of honorary relationships. And while I miss my parents everyday, and would do almost anything to have them back…" he trailed off, then let out another bittersweet sigh again. "Well, I can't really resent how things turned out in the end, you know?"

Dana squeezed his hand comfortingly. "I understand, Terry."

Terry smiled at her. "Thanks for listening, Dana. I'm sorry if that was too much."

"It's fine, Terry," she assured him, and she can't help but lean a little closer, and she saw him doing the same—

"Terry?"

They both jump a little, and turn around to see that Matty had gotten off the carousel and was now looking at them both expectantly. Terry reluctantly let go of Dana's hand, and smiled at his younger brother. "Yeah, squirt?"

"Funnel cakes," Matty simply stated. He's referring to a promise Terry made him to get funnel cakes after the ride on the carousel.

"Right." Terry nodded, and looked at Dana. She nodded back, and the two follow a whooping Matty over to the stand.

And, well, if they're walking a little closer than they were before, who's to say?

* * *

The 'not-date' went off without a hitch, so it isn't long before an actual date follows. And another, and another, and Dana was on cloud nine for the following weeks. Everyone at Hamilton High noticed, and while many were curious, just as many were jealous. Whether for the lost chance at the hot GA student or at Dana herself was largely dependent on sexual preference, but it was noticeable all the same. Dana was largely ignorant of it all.

Chelsea was not.

* * *

"So, how's Terry?"

Dana almost jumped, and then turned around to scowl at her best friend. "Chelsea!" she hissed

Chelsea chuckled as she slid into the seat next to Dana, placing her tray of food in front of her. "C'mon, Dana. Can you blame me for being a little curious?"

The dark-haired girl sighed, leaning her elbow against the table. "No, I guess not."

The other girl smiled. "So, tell me — how is he?"

Dana sighed again, except this time it's a wistful sigh. "Amazing. He's perfect, Chels. Kind, considerate, always careful not to push too far — and you should see him with his little brother. He's…" she sighed once more, lovestruck.

Chelsea smirked. "He really does sound perfect. So, have you kissed yet?"

"Chels!"

"Please, Dana? I'm your best friend! I want details!"

"Fine, fine. Yes, we kissed."

" _And_ …?" Chelsea prompted.

Dana gave her another lovestruck expression. "It was wonderful."

"Like fireworks?"

Dana slowly nodded. Chelsea squealed.

"Oh, I'm so happy for you girl! You deserve a guy like him!" Chelsea gushed, only to her mood to suddenly turn glum. "I wish I could be as lucky."

"Don't worry, Chels," Dana said, reaching over to comfort her friend. "I'm sure there's a guy out there for you. All we need to do is find him."

"Yeah, well it won't be for a while," Chelsea swept her eyes disparagingly across the cafeteria. "Not _here_ , at least."

Dana followed her gaze, wincing when she sees Nelson eying her up again, along with some of his other jock friends. She shuddered.

Chelsea was right on that front, unfortunately.

* * *

The next day, after school, Dana went to meet Terry at the mall for a short date. She's all smiles until she spotted her boyfriend talking animatedly with another girl. A very _pretty_ girl.

While she trusted Terry, she can't help but feel a small pit growing in her stomach. The girl her boyfriend was talking to wasn't a conventional, almost classical beauty like Dana, but she's beautiful all the same. With dark skin and slight, seductive eyes, and ample curves and _assets_ , any boy would be attracted to her. Even with the pink, dyed hair.

Terry spotted her back, and his bright smile and eager gestures for her to hurry over smooth away some of her fear, but not all of it. He wouldn't be acting like that if he was trying to flirt with another girl, right?

"Dana," Terry said as soon as she's close, and he pulled her to his side. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine."

"A friend?" Dana asked, trying to remain polite.

The other girl smirked. "Well, more like a cousin, really."

Dana feels herself relax at that, though she still remains slightly perplexed. _A cousin?_ The girl doesn't look anything like Terry, so maybe she's related to his adoptive family?

"Dana, my best friend Maxine Gibson — or Max, as we call her," Terry introduced his friend, blind to his girlfriend's confusion. "Max, this is my new girlfriend Dana Tan."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Max told her genuinely, holding out her hand which Dana took for the customary handshake. "I've been waiting to meet the girl that Terry hasn't been able to shut up about for the last month and a half."

"Oh?" Dana glanced at her boyfriend, amused.

Terry sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, bashful. "Well…"

"He really likes you," Maxine mock-whispered to her, prompting a "Max!" from Terry and a giggle from Dana. Almost immediately, Dana felt her previous envy drain away. There's nothing to worry about here.

* * *

Around half an hour later, they're sitting at the food court, where Terry was picking up some pizza for them all to share. While he's gone, Dana picked up the courage to talk. After all, Max was Terry's best friend, and she wanted to make a good impression on her. "So, how do you two know each other?"

Max gave another smirk, something Dana was starting to realize was her default expression. "Through our parents. Well, adoptive, in Terry's case. And not so much my parents as it is my aunt and uncle. My uncle works with Terry's dad at the same company and his wife, my aunt, has known Terry's dad since he was a kid. They're still really close, so I've known Terry's dad practically all my life. Even longer than Terry has, really."

"Wow," Dana said in reply. That's quite a connection. _No wonder the two of them saw each other as family. They pretty much are._

"My mom, who is my uncle's little sister, even dated one of Terry's uncles for a bit."

Dana chuckled. "That must've made reunions awkward."

Max's smirk turned brittle. Dana noticed, and her expression turned worried. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, Dana," Max shook her head sadly. "It's just…Terry's uncle died years ago. Before any of us were born, actually. In fact, his dad lost all of his siblings except for his sister."

Almost immediately, the Asian girl was stricken with horror. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, Dana. You didn't know," Max sighed. "Our parents…they don't like to talk about them much. It's been years — decades, really — but to them the wounds still feel a little raw. Especially for Terry's dad and aunt."

Dana nodded sympathetically. As difficult as her relationship with Doug could be, she couldn't imagine losing him like that, at least not so young. _Maybe that_ _'s why Terry's dad took Terry and Matty in. Because he knew what it was like to lose family._

"Terry doesn't mind talking about them, but then again he doesn't really have much to say on the subject. It's like I said: they died before any of us were born," Max continued, heedless of Dana's thoughts.

The other girl hummed and was about to respond, until she spotted her boyfriend coming over with the pizza. Max and Dana looked at each other, and silently agreed to let the subject drop.

* * *

("You haven't told her who you really are yet, have you?" Max asked her best friend with an accusing gaze, crossing her arms.

"No," Terry admitted. "I want her to like me for _me_ , you know?"

"I understand, Terry, and I can't blame you. But you can't hide it from her forever. You've managed to stay below the radar so far, but your sister hasn't. Nor do I think she wants to. It's only a matter of time before it lands on you."

Terry cringed. Helena did revel in the spotlight more than most members of their family did. Granted, part of that was for their cover, but still… "I know, Max. And I will. I just want to enjoy this while it lasts."

Max placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Dana is a nice girl, Terry. Genuine. I think you should give her a little more credit than that.")

* * *

It's some weeks later when Dana's father asked to meet her boyfriend over dinner. Her mother noncommittally agreed, and Dana was glad that Doug is attending college over at another state because the last thing she needed was a snide remark. Reluctantly, Dana conceded to their request (order, really), and passed over the invitation to Terry, who nonchalantly accepts.

She wants to warn Terry about what he's getting into, but she doesn't want to scare him off. So instead, Dana told him that her father had high standards, which was true in a way, and Terry waved it off. "My family has high standards too," he revealed to her with a wink and a smile. Dana smiled back, weakly, and thought that whatever standards his family has, it can't compare to hers.

The Tans were what the Gotham Elite would call a 'minor family'. They had money, yes, but their small fortune didn't compare to the vast wealth that the major families like the Galavans had, to say nothing of the fact that they had only come into it in the last ten years. Their name, meanwhile, hardly bore any weight — their family had only lived in Gotham for two generations. Hardly any history there.

Dana's father, David Tan, had other plans. Ever since he had come into his wealth only to find himself still stonewalled by the upper echelons of Gotham's social establishment, he had worked hard to elevate the Tan name. This included Doug and Dana's schooling — after failing to get them into one of the private schools like Gotham Academy, he had purposely moved them to the same district as the highest-rated public school in the city for them to attend. Meanwhile, he and his wife and Dana and Doug's mother, Rhea Tan, tried to attend as many high-class social functions as they could, hoping to make enough connections to further their social ambitions.

While they didn't control _every_ aspect of Dana's life, they still had standards to be met. This was why Dana had even agreed to go on a date with Nelson Nash — he was one of the few people at Hamilton Hill High that met the strict criteria her parents had for a possible boyfriend. The Nash Family was a rising minor family, and Nelson was the school's star quarterback. Dana had hoped to spark something between them because she was starting to get lonely, and she wouldn't have to worry about her parents' disapproval with him.

When the date fell through, however, she wasn't all that cut about it in the end, and neither were her parents. She could do better, they had told her, and while they meant it in an entirely different way than she did, they were still right. Dana _could_ do better. And she had, with Terry. Her parents hadn't been all that approving at first, having never heard of the McGinnis Family, but they had warmed up considerably upon hearing that Terry attended Gotham Academy. Even if he didn't have a distinguished name, his enrollment there meant he had quite a number of connections that they could take advantage of.

Hence, the dinner. They wanted to gauge Terry. See if he would make a suitable spouse for their daughter. It didn't seem to matter that Terry and her had only been dating for a couple of months. Apparently her parents wanted to assess him _now_ , probably in hopes of cutting off the relationship early if they decided he didn't meet their expectations.

Dana loved her parents. She did. But they could be so tiring, sometimes.

* * *

When Dana opened the door and saw Terry standing there with a covered dish in his hands, she swallowed and smiled. "Terry, you're early!" she said, taking the dish from his hands and setting it to the side so she could hug him.

Terry returned the hug, smiling nervously. "I am. I was hoping to make a good impression on your parents."

"Well, this is a good start," Dana glanced to the side. "What's the dish?"

"A casserole, based off an old family recipe. My dad and I made it together before I came here."

Dana raised an eyebrow. "You cook?"

"Everyone in the family does," Terry replied, shrugging. "Dad doesn't want us relying on takeout if we move out."

"Your dad is very practical," she noted.

Terry just smiled.

* * *

David Tan was a tall, stocky man with a short cut of dark hair and the slightest of wrinkles under his eyes. His wife Rhea had similar dark hair in a short bob, but her softer features had been inherited by her daughter. Both greeted Terry politely before seating him at their dining table — David on one end and Terry on the other, with Rhea to the former's right and her daughter across from her. Terry's casserole had been warmed up and placed near the center of the table, next to the main course: a medium-sized rotisserie chicken.

Upon her first bite of the casserole, Dana's eyes immediately lit up. She swallowed it down, savoring the taste, before glancing at her boyfriend. "This is delicious, Terry! You and your dad did an amazing job with this," she complimented her boyfriend.

Terry chuckled. "Thanks. I'll be sure to pass it on to Dad. He loves to cook, so he'll be happy to know that you like it."

And of course, Dana's father used that as a platform to launch his interrogation. He asked what Terry's father did for a living (businessman), where he worked (Wayne Enterprises — _that_ turned some heads), how long they had lived in Gotham (all of their lives). This, of course, led to talking about Terry himself, and his interests, including his love for martial arts and for his motorcycle.

Dana already knew about all of that, of course. Terry had come to more than one date with a bruise or two from training, and had picked her up with his motorcycle more often enough. It was when David started asking about his other siblings that things started getting awkward.

"Well, my oldest sister owns a diner over on Park Row. It's doing really well, so she's opened up a few more around the city and turned it into a franchise. There's already talks about opening one in Metropolis."

David and Rhea exchanged looks. Dana couldn't really read them, but she hoped that was a good thing. She knew how some of the families looked down on certain kinds of professions. The now-extinct Drake family was proof enough of that.

"And your other sister?" David prompted.

Terry smiled nervously. "She graduated from Princeton a couple of years back. Now she works at Wayne Enterprises with my dad."

"Oh really? As a businesswoman, like your father?"

"You could say that."

That was a suspicious answer. Hopefully, not too suspicious that her father might decide there was something untoward about him. Dana didn't really know much about Terry's family (he told her that they were very private people), but he had promised to let her meet them eventually when he had the chance. From what he _had_ told her, however, they were wonderful people — Matty was proof enough of that.

Dinner continued on, and eventually finished. Terry helped with the cleanup, and took the now empty dish (the casserole had been a hit, much to Dana's relief) with him as he left. Dana waved him goodbye, then shut the door closed and turned around to face her parents.

"So?" she asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"He's acceptable," her mother said after a moment. Dana slumped her shoulders in relief.

"But," her father started, causing her to straighten her back again, "we think he's hiding something. Nothing bad, necessarily, but I think you should keep an eye out, Dana."

Dana tried not to roll her eyes. "Sure thing, Dad." _Not_.

Whatever Terry was hiding — _if_ Terry was hiding something — she doubted it was something to worry herself over.

* * *

And the months passed by, as their relationship continued to grow. Now it was customary for Terry to pick her (and later Chelsea) up from Hamilton High after school to hang out at the mall or somewhere else with Max. He only used the motorcycle when they were going out for a date by themselves. Chelsea got to know him better as well, and much like Dana, had hit it off with the snarky Max. Even Howie eventually joined in. Life was…good.

Until, eventually, Christmas hit — as did the culmination of her family's social ambitions. After years of toiling, the Tans had done the impossible and gotten invited to the annual Wayne Foundation Gala. _The_ social event of the year. Her father had been on cloud nine for a week after the news broke.

Of course, they weren't the _only_ minor family invited. It seemed Jason Wayne was being generous and extravagant this year, as almost all the minor families had been invited. Word was that he was outfitting Wayne Hall specifically for this gala. Whatever the case, Dana was happy to hear that — it meant she'd get to see Chelsea at the gala as well. The Cunninghams were a rising family too.

Alas, that also meant Nelson and Blade were going to be there as well. And Howie, but Dana wouldn't mind seeing him. All in all, it was something to be excited for — until her parents asked her if Terry was going as well. With the implicit suggestion that if he wasn't already, then maybe she should break up with him. After all, any boy worth marrying in Gotham was going to be at _this_ gala.

So, reluctantly, Dana dialed up Terry for a call. She had already decided that if Terry _wasn_ _'t_ already going, she'd bring him along anyway. Forget her parents — she _liked_ Terry. Really, _really_ liked him. He made her happy.

Her cell rang until… " _Dana?_ "

"Hey, babe. How are you?"

" _Nothing much. Just helping Matty with some of his homework._ "

Dana smiled. "Always got to be the good big brother, huh?"

" _Yup. So what_ _'s up? Is something wrong?_ "

She hesitated for a moment, then spoke. "My parents got a family invite to the Wayne Foundation Gala."

There was a momentary silence over the line. " _The Wayne Foundation Gala?_ " there was an odd tone to her boyfriend's voice.

"Yeah. They were wondering if you were invited too. If not, you can come with me if you want."

" _I_ _… that's kind of you Dana. I wasn't invited, per se, but I_ will _be there anyway._ "

Dana frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

" _It_ _'s complicated. Let's just say…well, you'll understand why when you get there. Just trust me, alright?_ "

"Alright, Terry."

She could hear him smile over the line. " _On the bright side, you_ _'ll finally get to meet my family there. They've been badgering me for ages to see you. Apparently Matty has been telling stories._ "

"Oh really? What kind?"

* * *

It had been a hassle, but the Tans managed to get their own appointment at the Menagerie. Dana ultimately chose a sky blue evening gown with open shoulder sleeves. Her long black hair had been dolled up into a high rise bun, and her father had gifted her a matching hand bag for the occasion. The Tans weren't rich enough to have a personal driver on permanent call, but they were rich enough to hire one for the night, along with a short limo to arrive in.

Dana waited nervously in the car as they waited for their turn to ride up in front of Wayne Hall's famous Acropolis entrance. She couldn't help but send texts to Chelsea, Howie and Max (who she confirmed would also be there) and most of all, to Terry. All reassured her that things would be fine, that they would be there too. She hoped they were right. While yes, Dana didn't care about her family's social ambitions all that much, this meant a lot to her parents and to her future, so she hoped to make a good impression with the people there.

Eventually, the time came. They waited for the driver to open the door, and her father was the first to step out, followed by her mother and then her. As she did so, she couldn't help but stare in awe at the visage of Wayne Hall. It seemed to be even grander in person, illuminated by a number of golden lights that had been weaved around the Grecian columns and giving off an almost ethereal glow. _If this is what it_ _'s like outside, I can only imagine what the inside will be like._

They walked up the rolled out red carpet, letting a couple of pictures be taken from the very few members of the press that had been allowed on the Wayne Estate for this occasion. Jason Wayne was notoriously private despite his life in the public sphere, so this was one of the few times he would allow any member of the Fourth Estate onto his property. Even he knew the value of the media when it came to his philanthropy, after all.

Dana followed her parents, gliding up the steps and inhaling a deep breath as she crossed the threshold into the venue. Once she got a full view of the interior, she stopped and stared again, and this time her parents were with her. _Jason Wayne really did go all out this time_ , she would reflect, later.

Wayne Hall had been decked out with some of the most luxurious adornments she had ever seen. Handcrafted glass 'stars' hung from the ceiling around the sparkling chandelier, the walls had been painted with a theme — based off of Van Gogh's _Starry Night_ painting, by the looks of it — and all the tables had large white-colored goodie bags on every seat. Off towards the stage, an orchestral band was playing a voiceless rendition of _Silent Night_. Already, she could see countless members of Gotham's elite class milling about, socializing.

An usher, one of many hired for tonight's event, guided them to their table. Dana was surprised to see Chelsea and her father already there when they arrived, along with Howie and his parents. What were the chances that they would all be sitting at the same table?

(Later, Dana would realize it wasn't a coincidence at all.)

"Isn't this amazing?" Chelsea would whisper to her the moment the Tans sat down. Dana couldn't help but nod, making a short wave to Howie across the table as she did so. "I can't believe we're here!"

"Neither can I," Dana told her, setting her hand bag down next to her plate. "Have you seen Terry or Max?"

Chelsea shook her head. "No, but then again I just got here like you. I'm sure they'll turn up."

"Right," Dana agreed. They would. They had promised, after all.

By the grace of their parents, the seats were rearranged so they could sit next to Howie and commiserate over the their current situation. They were at the Wayne Foundation's Christmas Gala, after all. The biggest event of the year, as far as Gotham City went. Dana could only imagine all the people that would swarm them at Hamilton Hill High the following Monday, asking for the details. It would be a nightmare to navigate.

Eventually, Cassandra Wayne, Jason Wayne's sister, walked up the steps of the stage and made a speech. It seemed that Jason was delayed dealing with something and had asked his sister to handle the initial hosting duties. A beautiful woman that looked almost fifteen years younger than she actually was, Cassandra had thanked them all for coming tonight and insisted they start the festivities. The food had been already laid out, the dance floor cleared, and the orchestral band started playing a jaunty tune.

After she left the stage, the three of them immediately got up to follow her instructions. Dana couldn't help but giggle as she saw the 'first course', as one of the waiters had told her, on the side table. She was going to be _so_ full when this was over.

"You should try the ones with the pears. I tasted them myself — they're absolutely _divine_."

Blinking, the three teenagers turned around. It took all of their self-control not to gape when they saw who addressed them. She was a tall woman with brunette hair, wearing glasses with wire black frames and green-tinted lenses. An odd quirk of hers that held over from her childhood years, continuing even after she had been adopted into the most powerful family in Gotham City.

The woman smiled at them. "Carrie Wayne. And you might be…?"

Dana was the first to find her voice. "Dana. Dana Tan. And these are my friends Chelsea Cunningham and Howard Groote."

"It's nice to meet you," Chelsea managed to stutter out.

"You can call me Howie," Howie told the older woman, clearly not thinking his words through.

Carrie laughed. "Alright then, _Howie_."

Howie blanched when he realized what he just said and flushed.

"It's fine. I'll admit, I've never seen the three of you at a Wayne Gala before. Is this your first time?"

Hesitantly, the three teens nodded.

"Well, don't worry about making a good impression or anything like that," Carrie told them. "Just enjoy yourselves, and you'll find that everything will come easier to you than you thought it would." That final word said, she gave them a playful wave goodbye and turned to walk towards another guest.

The moment she was out of earshot, all three finally had it in them to breathe. "Did we just talk to a Wayne?" Howie wondered.

"I think we did," Dana replied faintly, still staring out into space.

* * *

After that wondrous and frankly terrifying experience, the three teens collected their food and ate. Dana looked around, searching for Terry, and frowned when she realized she couldn't see him yet. She was quickly distracted, however, when Chelsea dragged her to the dance floor for a quick twirl after the first two courses had filled them up sufficiently. Dana conceded with a sigh, especially when the orchestral band had switched up to a more upbeat song that seemed out of place for a formal gala like this.

She was in the midst of spinning around during a particular chord when her eyes met someone else's. She nearly tripped over her feet when she recognized who it was: Cassandra Wayne. The older woman, on her part, helped catch her with an indulgent expression.

"You should be careful," Cassandra gently chided her.

"Forgive me, Miss Wayne," Dana said shyly in response, smoothing out the lower half of her gown.

"It's fine. As long as you heed my advice. Dancing is an enjoyable past time, but only when done with awareness and safety."

Dana nodded. Cassandra stepped forward and place a hand on her shoulder, tilting her head. "Tell me your name, young one."

"Dana Tan, ma'am."

"Dana Tan…" Cassandra let the name roll off her tongue. "I shall remember that." She gave Dana's shoulder a squeeze before walking away.

A minute later, Chelsea walked up to her with wide eyes. "Was that Cassandra Wayne?"

"Yeah," Dana croaked out, still stunned.

"Oh my God, Dana! That's the second Wayne tonight!" Chelsea hissed.

"I know," Dana told her, tightening her fists. "I know."

* * *

"Still no Terry?" Chelsea asked sympathetically.

Dana sighed and shook her head sadly. "No. He's even stopped texting. Hopefully he's alright."

"Well, wherever he is, I'm sure he'd want you to have fun."

"Yeah, you're right," Dana sighed again.

"Hey guys! Have you checked out the goodie bags?" Howie cut into the conversation, rifling through one of the white pouches.

Chelsea glared at him. "Really, Howie?"

"C'mon! Aren't you curious?"

The girls exchanged a look. He had a point.

Howie took out a piece of parchment whistled. "Wow! A coupon for WayneTech!"

Chelsea blinked. "Isn't that the biggest tech store in the city?"

"And the most expensive too!"

Dana shrugged. "Well, it _is_ a Wayne Foundation Gala," she pointed out.

"Indeed."

Dana, Chelsea, and Howie stared as a statuesque woman with long, dark hair sat herself in the seat next to Dana. Her distinctive green eyes slit themselves as a sly smirk crossed her face. She was, perhaps, the most gorgeous woman any of them had ever seen.

"Helena Wayne," the woman introduced herself. "I apologize for intruding like this but I couldn't help but be a little intrigued by your conversation. Dana Tan, Chelsea Cunningham, and Howard Groote, correct?"

"I-I…yes, how did you know that?" Dana rushed out. This was the _third_ Wayne tonight. At this rate she'd be meeting the whole family.

Helena's smirk widened. "I make it a point to know the names of everyone that attends one of these parties, whether I meet with them personally or not."

"Really?"

"Really. So, how are you enjoying the gala so far? Having fun?"

The teens nodded vigorously, though, Dana's was slower than the others. This didn't escape Helena's notice. "What's wrong, Dana?"

"It's nothing, Miss Wayne. It's just — my boyfriend and his best friend promised to be there, and I haven't seen them yet."

Helena hummed. "Their names?"

"Terrence McGinnis and Maxine Gibson."

The older woman tapped her fingers on the table. "Well, I don't know about the first, but the second is actually here. She's just been unable to get away from her parents' friends. I'll go ahead and find her and send her over your way."

Dana blinked and blushed. "You don't need to do that, Miss Wayne."

Helena waved her off. "Pish posh. It'd be my pleasure."

* * *

"I am so sorry, guys," Max apologized the moment she arrived. "I've been meaning to find you but my cousins kept taking up my time."

"It's fine, Max," Dana said, swallowing a bite of food. "What matters is that you're here now. Though, I need to ask — have you seen Terry?"

There was a flash of _something_ in Max's eyes, though it was gone before Dana could pinpoint it. "He's here, Dana, but he got caught up in something too. He'll probably try to find you as soon as he's done."

Dana finally felt the pit in her heart dislodge itself at that. Thank God. Terry was fine. He hadn't forgotten her at all.

"Yo, baby cuz, why you here?"

The four teenagers turned to see a tall, African American man with a vague resemblance to Max approaching them. While Dana and the others wondered who this was, Max palmed her forehead. "Seriously, Felix? The accent _again_?"

The newly-dubbed 'Felix' grinned. "Ah, c'mon, Max! Let me have my fun!"

"No. In fact, not just no, but _hell_ no."

Felix pouted. Max sighed. "Dana, Chelsea, Howie, I'd like you to meet my cousin: Felix Fox."

Immediately, the three teenagers froze. "You mean _the_ Felix Fox?" Howie gasped. "The son of Luke Fox and Barbara Gordon-Fox?"

"Huh. I didn't realize I was that famous," Felix commented, rubbing his chin.

"Wait a minute, if he's Felix Fox, then…" Chelsea's eyes widened, and she whirled on Max. "You're a Fox, Max?"

Dana felt her jaw drop. _Max is a Fox?_ The Foxes were arguably the most powerful of the minor families — some would even say they were a major family, considering the vastness of their wealth and influence. On top of their own thriving company, Foxteca, headed by the trifecta of Tamara Fox, her husband Orenthal Cornelius Gibson, and her sister-in-law Barbara Gordon-Fox, they were closely associated with the Waynes and Wayne Enterprises, often partnering together for projects. Luke Fox, the older brother of Tam Fox and Barbara's husband, was the explicit second-in-command, if not outright partner, of Jason Wayne himself.

_Did Terry know about this?_ she couldn't help but wonder. Then she mentally slapped herself — of _course_ Terry knew about this. Max was his best friend. They had known each other since they were kids. He would have had to have met Max's parents already.

Max sighed again. "Yeah, I am. My parents are Orenthal Gibson and Tamara Fox."

"Oh my God," Chelsea whispered.

"Look, I'm sorry for not telling you. It's just…awkward when people realize who my parents are," Max explained, shuffling her feet a bit, "They tend to see them more than me."

And just like, any apprehension Dana felt about this recent revelation came crashing down. _Of course_ Max felt like that. She had probably been stressing out about this ever since she had first met Dana, which was probably why Terry never told her about his friend's parents. Max had wanted her to like her for herself, not for her name or money.

"Well, I still see you," Dana told her, smiling. Max smiled back gratefully.

Which was quickly wiped away when Felix threw his arm around her shoulder. "Maxie! You've finally made friends outside of the Family! I'm so happy!" he mock-sobbed.

"How am I related to you?" Max bemoaned.

* * *

After Felix left them, Max sat down at their table and they got to talking about their experience so far with the gala. Unlike them, Max had been to several of these growing up, though this one was the largest she had been to since Helena Wayne's Sweet Sixteen Gala a decade ago. She provided a different dimension to the discussion, revealing the amount of work that went into planning a gala like this and comparing aspects of it to past galas, including the location.

"Jason Wayne hates Wayne Hall?" Howie gaped.

Max nodded. "Uncle Jason grew up in Park Row when it was Crime Alley. Until Bruce adopted him, he didn't have a cent to his name. So, he doesn't like to spend so much money unless it's for a good cause — like philanthropy, in this case. According to Aunt Babs, when he first saw Wayne Hall and learned why it was built, he vomited."

The three other teens grimaced. That was not a pretty picture to imagine.

"I'm actually kind of surprised that he's using Wayne Hall this year. I thought after Lena's Sweet Sixteen he'd close this place down for good."

"Lena?" Chelsea asked, eyebrow raised.

"Helena Wayne," Max clarified. "It's one of her nicknames."

Right. Because Max had known Helena Wayne since she was a kid — a baby, really. _God, how is this my life?_ Dana wondered. She had met three Waynes tonight and learned that one of her friends was a Fox. At least she didn't have to worry about her parents disapproving of _this_ friendship.

"Hey there, Dana!"

_And now there_ _'s this guy._ Dana silently moaned as the mood of the conversation plummeted. Nelson Nash, who they all had been deliberately avoiding all night, sauntered in, with a bored-looking Blade hanging off his arm.

"Where's your _boyfriend_?" he immediately asked, smiling nastily.

"Oh, just go away, Nash," Chelsea told him off, standing up.

Nelson held up his hands in a placating gesture, though the smirk made it clear that placation was the last thing on his mind. "Hey, I'm just asking a question."

" _Right_ ," Max drawled.

The bully glanced down at her. "And who might you be?"

"Max Gibson."

While Nelson didn't seem to recognize the name, Blade did, judging by how alert she suddenly became upon hearing it. She gazed at Max with renewed interest. Dana wasn't surprised — Blade's parents were even bigger social climbers than hers were, and unlike Dana, Blade had inherited the trait wholeheartedly. She would've taken the effort to be aware of the who's who of Gotham's elite, at least for this party.

"Uh huh," Nelson said, brushing the girl off. Dana saw Max's eyebrows raise, and resisted the urge to giggle. If only he knew. "So, Dana. Where's your boyfriend… Tommy, wasn't it?"

"Terry, Nelson," Dana corrected him, crossing her arms. "And for the record, he _will_ be here. He's just…busy, with something right now. According to Max." Admittedly, it sounded weak even to her ears.

And to Nelson's, judging by the growing smirk on his face. He was about to make another comment, only to stop when he saw everyone's parents arrive. Dana noticed them too, and frowned. It seemed her parents were done with the socializing for the time being. Or, judging by the looks on their faces, were making sure their children weren't embarrassing them.

"What's going on here?" David asked, crossing his arms.

"Nothing, Dad," Dana replied, standing up. "We were all just talking, right?" There were concurring nods all around.

David didn't look convinced, but accepted it anyway. "Very well then. Dana, has Terry arrived?"

"Well, he—" she stuttered out, well aware of the audience they had and the increasingly dark expression on her father's face.

"Dana!"

And then, ever so briefly, the tension lifted as an eleven year old boy jogged up to Dana with a bright smile on his face. "You're here!" Matty said joyfully, before hugging her.

Dana couldn't help the bright smile that crossed her face as she gently pressed her hands against Matty's back. "Hey, Matty. Where's your brother?"

Matty blinked up at her. "Terry? He should be right—"

"Matty!" And yup, there was Terry. _Finally_ , Dana thought, just a little bit annoyed. "Don't run from me like that!"

His little brother ignored him. "Look Terry! Dana!"

"Yes, I see her," Terry told him, sighing, before glancing at his girlfriend apologetically. "Sorry I'm late, Dana. There was an errand Dad and I needed to run and it took much longer than we thought it would."

"It's fine, Terry," Dana assured him, moving forward to take his hand. Terry let out a breath of relief.

"Where _is_ your father, Terry?" Rhea Tan asked, cutting into the conversation before anyone else could speak. "You promised us a chance to meet him." _Since you keep on avoiding telling us who he is_ , is what she didn't say.

Terry cringed. "Well, he's—"

"Okay, why is there such a large group here?"

The entire group stilled as they spotted the newest entry into the conversation — and the _fourth_ Wayne Dana would be meeting tonight. A tall, muscular man with slick black hair and blue-green eyes, who looked ten years younger than he reportedly was. Jason Wayne, the (in)famous head of the Wayne Family and the richest man in Gotham.

The Prince of Gotham raised an eyebrow. "Well, is anyone going to answer me?"

"We were all just talking, Uncle Jason," Max casually answered, putting the spotlight on her. Nelson goggled at the casual address.

Jason shot her a flat look. "Oh really, Maxine?"

"Yes, really. Just talking. All these guests live in the same area, and it's their first time at a Wayne Gala. They were just…comparing experiences."

"Uh huh," Jason said in a way that made it blatantly clear he wasn't fooled in the least. His eyes flickered over the entire group before settling on Terry and Dana. They narrowed slightly as he adopted a smirk.

"Don't you dare say anything," Terry warned him before he could open his mouth.

Almost everyone else gaped at him, except for Nelson who smirked. Nobody noticed Max, who just smiled. " _Terry!_ " Dana hissed.

David stepped forward, desperate to save the situation before her daughter's boyfriend screwed everything over for them. "Forgive him, Mr. Wayne. I'm sure he didn't mean to be so rude."

Jason looked at him, still smirking, and now chuckling. "Oh no, he certainly did."

_Oh my God oh my God oh my God_ _…_ Dana kept chanting in her head. What was Terry thinking, talking back to _Jason Wayne_ of all people! Now her parents would never approve of their relationship!

Completely aware of the panicking the various people present were going through, Jason's smirk turned into a full-blown grin. "You really didn't tell them, did you?" he asked, speaking to Terry directly.

"Nope!" Matty piped up, removing himself from Dana's side to smile mischievously at everyone.

"Indeed he did not," a voice commented. Dana looked up to see it was the three Wayne women she had met over the course of the night: Carrie, Helena, _and_ Cassandra. She paled even harder, even as her mind continued to run a mile a minute. What was going on?

Her thoughts when an audible snicker turned into hysterical laughter. She turned around to see Max clutching her sides as she cackled loudly, nearly falling out of her chair. Everyone stared at the girl, who was struggling to get a hold of herself, in disbelief, except for the Waynes, who still looked amused, and Terry, who groaned.

"You're all enjoying this, aren't you?" he accused the Waynes, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, we are!" Max hollered behind him, still laughing. Terry growled.

Jason lifted an eyebrow, placing his hands into his pockets. "You only have yourself to blame, Terry."

"I hate all of you," Terry told them, distinctly unamused.

"No you don't!" Matty countered cheerfully. Terry growled again, this time at his little brother, who only grinned in retaliation.

Howie, whose mind had been twisting around like everyone else's, began to twitch, until he finally snapped. "Could someone explain what's going on!" He yelled, causing everyone's attention to turn to him. Upon realizing this, he shrunk unto himself and added a quiet, "Please."

Terry sighed. "Dana," he started, taking his girlfriend's hand and pulling her forward. Dana blinked up at him, confused.

"I'd like you to meet my family."

_What._

The group behind them fell completely silent, except for the still laughing Max. Jaws dropped, especially those of the Tans and Nelson. Dana's eyes were the widest they had ever been as her head swished between her boyfriend and the Waynes.

"You've already my younger brother Matty," Terry continued, ignoring her reaction. "These are my two older sisters, Carrie and Helena, my aunt Cassandra, or Cass, as we call her, and my dad — Jason."

Dana stared. Jason tilted his head, and stepped forward to observe her at a closer angle. "So you're the girl that captured my boy's heart…" he mused.

"You didn't need to introduce us, Terry," Helena said slyly. "The three of us already met her while she was waiting for you. And I don't know about Aunt Cass or Carrie, but I approve."

"As do I," Carried added, while Cass nodded.

"Well, that's good to hear—wait, _what_?"

"Oh, c'mon Terry! Did you really expect us to wait to meet her after all the praises you and Matty sang about her?"

" _Yes!_ "

As the siblings descended into familiar bickering, Jason's grin faded away into a genuine smile. "My children," he exhaled theatrically with both exasperation and fondness. "I love them, I do, but they can be quite a lot to handle, as you've no doubt realized tonight."

Dana blinked again, and nodded slowly.

"Don't be too hard on him, Dana. He was planning on telling you tonight at the beginning of the gala, but the errand we were on popped up unexpectedly and took much longer than we thought it would." Jason placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "For what it's worth, we've been eager to meet you. Terry and Matty have said nothing but good things, and I wanted to see if you lived up to the hype. And judging by the comments my sister and daughters have made, you have. So I guess I can forgo the threats just this once and ask you to take care of my son. He's strong, my Terry, but he's a lot more fragile than you think."

The girl swallowed at that. Jason glanced back at his bickering children, and cleared his throat, ending the argument. Terry turned to him and his face softened when he saw how confused and out of place Dana looked. "I think you and Dana need to talk, Terry. When you're done, we'll be at our table so we can discuss this properly." He gave Dana a final pat on the shoulder before corralling his family back to the center table, where the Waynes were all seated together. Along the way, he helped pick up the still laughing Max off the floor and helped guide her back to the table with them.

All except for Terry, who smiled awkwardly at Dana. "Surprise?"

* * *

"So you're a Wayne, huh?" Dana asked, frowning. After the Waynes had left the vicinity, Terry had guided Dana away to a private corner of the Hall while everyone else tried to recover from the recent revelations about his family.

Terry licked his lips. "Yeah, I am," he admitted with regret. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Dana, it's just that, well…"

Dana bit her lip. "You wanted me to like you for you, right?"

Terry nodded bashfully. "How did you know?"

"Max said something similar, when we found out she was a Fox. I guess it's even worse for you."

"You have no idea. Even at GA, everyone treats me differently. Like I'm on a pedestal. Max and her family are some of the only people who don't treat me like the sun shines out of my ass." Terry rubbed his arm. "And then I met you, and you didn't recognize me and, well…I wanted to get to know you. And I wanted you to know me, the _real_ me. So…if this changes things…"

Dana reached over to caress his cheek. "It doesn't, Terry. Whether you're a Wayne or a McGinnis, you're still Terry and that's all that matters to me."

Terry smiled at that. The couple gazed at one another deeply before leaning forward to exchange a deep kiss. They were careful not to let it be too deep, seeing as they were in public and surrounded by Gotham's upper class, but even so the sentiment is clear. After a minute or so, they separated, and leaned their foreheads together.

"I got to know, though — where did you get the name McGinnis?" Dana asked, panting slightly.

Terry looked down. "That was the last name of my biological parents. Officially, my name is Terry McGinnis-Wayne."

Dana didn't say anything to that, though the hug she gave him afterward made it clear where her feelings stood on that. Terry returned the embrace, and they stayed like that for several minutes before finally releasing it.

"Ready to be grilled to the ninth degree?" Terry asked as he slipped his hand into Dana's.

Dana paused. She wanted to say no. It was almost too much tonight. Her boyfriend was a Wayne. A couple of weeks ago she ate a casserole made by the hands of _Jason Wayne_. Her parents were never going to disapprove of this relationship — no, quite the opposite. She was probably going to get mobbed at school on Monday. But… she looked up into Terry's eyes, and felt all those worries fade away.

"I think I am," Dana replied, grinning. "Funny that."

Terry grinned back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is 10,000 words. Or close to it. Almost two chapters long.
> 
> I've been having a little writer's block on the main story, so I decided to write this to get my mind off it. This is the early story of Terry and Dana's relationship, and I thought it would make a nice breather to the beautiful tragedy of Jason and Donna's. It's like a meet cute, a boy meet girl story. I originally intended for this to be a one-shot, as a part of a collection, but decided to make it an interlude instead.
> 
> Of course, there are differences between this story and Batman Beyond canon. As you can see, Terry has never met Dana before or attended Hamilton Hill High, since he's a Gotham Academy student. Jason is going to want him to have the best education possible, and that's at his old would-be alma mater. Meanwhile, I've adjusted Hamilton Hill High so it will fit into the world I've created — here, it's a high-class public school where startup minor families attend when they can't get into GA or Brentwood.
> 
> I did this because from what little we see of Dana's family, it seems she comes from a more upper-class family than Terry's. Obviously, that's reversed here since Terry is a Wayne. Also, because I wanted Chelsea, Howie, Nelson, and Blade to attend the gala too. This was the best way to do that.
> 
> As for Max, I wanted to bring her in too, and I got the idea of making her a Fox to do that, so that way she still had her established friendship with Terry. Here the two are childhood friends and attend GA together. Max is the daughter of Tam Fox, and thus the niece of Babs and Luke. She's known Jason since literal babyhood and Terry since he was adopted by Jason, and yes, that means she's aware of the Bat-Family since Tam knew that Tim was Red Robin and because her aunt and uncle are Oracle and Batwing, respectively. That means she's not as reckless in interfering with Batman business since she basically grew up in the superhero world.
> 
> I know this isn't what many of you expected, but again, I want a lead on the main story and this is something for you to chew on while waiting for that.
> 
> Next chapter (for certain): Jason and Donna talk.


	8. Wonder Woman II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Donna finally hash things out about their relationship.
> 
> And then — the Titans. And everyone else.

"That jackass," Jason groaned, slumping back into his chair. "I can't believe I ever missed him."

Donna sighed as she sat down in the chair next to him. "Don't be like that, Jay. You know he means well."

"I know. It doesn't mean he has to be so forceful about it."

She sighed again, and leaned back, crossing her arms. The two of them stared at each other for a while, both knowing that they still needed to address the elephant in the room but neither willing to take the plunge. Finally, after several minutes, Jason sat up, inhaling a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Donna tilted her head. "Jason, you're going have to be a little more specific. You and I both have plenty to apologize for."

"Fine then," Jason groaned, "I'm sorry for blowing up our relationship like that. I'm sorry for not telling you the truth. I thought…I just thought that if you hated me, you would have an easier time moving on. That it wouldn't hurt so much."

The Amazon couldn't help but scoff at that. "Jason, there was no way you could've avoided hurting me," she admitted, more than a little bitterly, glaring at him. He couldn't help but flinch at the harsh gaze. Donna had always managed to cut him in a way that no one else, not even members of his family, had.

Then, that glare softened into something more melancholic. "It _hurt_ , Jason. I'm not going to lie. But I think what hurt the most about it at all is that you didn't trust me."

"Donna, no," Jason quickly denied, reaching out to take her hand, a look of pain crossing his face when she kept it away. "I _do_ trust you. As much as I could trust anyone short of Cass—"

"THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU _TELL ME!_ "

Jason's expression crumbled as Donna abruptly stood up, clutching herself as she turned away and began to sob. " _Why_ , Jason?" she pleaded. "Do you have any idea how much you broke my heart? How much I loved you?" _How much I still love you?_

"Donna…" Jason stood up as well and gently turned her around, cupping her face.

"I've been asking myself that question for _years_ , Jason," Donna confessed, grasping his wrists. "Years and years of wondering. Tell me why, _please_. I deserve that much at least."

Hearing that, Jason opened his mouth, hesitating. Then, he sighed again, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, a bittersweet smile crossed his face, and he began to thumb Donna's tears away. "Do you have any idea much I love you?"

He saw confusion enter her eyes, and she was still panting slightly from her outburst. Even so, he continued on. "I love you so much, Donna. So _goddamn_ much. Not even all the stars in the sky could burn as bright as my love for you."

Despite the tension of the situation, Donna couldn't help but smile a bit at that. "You're such a dork."

"I know. But it's true." And now, there were tears tracking down his face too. "I didn't tell you, Donna, because there's not a single moment in my life where I felt I was good enough for you. And the cancer…the cancer proved that to me. Because I much as I loved you, as much I loved my family, I wasn't strong enough to fight for you. To stay. You always saw the best in me when I didn't see it in myself, and I felt like I was disappointing you. So, I thought…I thought if you hated me, if you could move on, you could finally find someone that was equally amazing as you. Someone who could love you just as much as I did, but still be ten times as worthy of you. More than I ever was."

"Jason…"

"I know that's not a good reason," Jason confessed. "That it's nowhere _close_ to being a good reason. But it's the truth."

Donna stared at him, still tearful, before she broke away, turning her back to him. Jason stepped forward, hesitant, but stopped when she spoke. "It's funny to hear you say that, Jason. Because there's not a moment where I felt worthy of you."

Jason froze at that.

The Amazon turned around to gaze at him longingly. "You might have fell of the path for a time, but you got back on it and made yourself into a hero again. Do you have any idea how amazing that is? The kind of sheer will that takes?"

He diverted his eyes away. He was well aware of what she was talking about.

"Me? After Dick died, I abandoned this world for ten years. I didn't come back until Cassie had died, until my own mother had died, until so many others had died," Donna spoke, shame seeping from every pore. "And don't even get me started on being a parent. You were a better father than I ever was a mother. You fought for every inch of time you could spend with your children. You never once missed any of their big milestones, even if that meant using Kyle or Wallace or Kon as cabbies, or asking other members of your family to go and record events so you could watch it later. While I all but abandoned my son to become a hero again because I was so addicted to this life, to saving people."

"You were a better mother than you think, Donna," Jason said, only for her to turn around and shake her head in denial.

"No, Jason," she retorted, smiling mirthlessly. "I wasn't."

Jason twisted his head around and bit his lip. "What are you trying to _say_ , Donna?"

"What I'm trying to say," Donna said calmly, "is that love isn't about being _worthy_ , Jason. It's not a prize to be won, some sword in the stone that needs to be pulled out. It's about how you feel." She stepped forward. "You hurt me immeasurably, Jason. But you only managed to do that because I loved you. I loved you so much. And I still love you, even now. I didn't stop after you broke my heart, I didn't stop after you died, and I didn't stop after _I_ died."

He stared longingly at her, trying not to feel hope. "But, Roy…"

Donna's face took a sad tilt. "I did love Roy, Jason. A part of me always will. But the Roy here and now has been dead to me for forty years. And as much as I loved him, it couldn't compare to how I felt for you. To how I feel for you _now_. You're the love of my life, Jason."

"And you're mine," Jason responded, breathlessly. Unconsciously, he moved forward, and she met him halfway—

It felt so good to feel Donna's lips again. To run his hands through her hair, to feel the warmth of her body against his. It felt like everything was slotting into place, like all the desperate, shattered bits of himself were building back into something whole, something he hadn't even realized had been broken in the first place. He felt _alive_ , more than he had when he had broken through the surface of a Lazarus Pit for the second time.

He kissed and he kissed, and she kissed back, and when they stopped for air, she brushed her hand against the front locks of his hair. "I love you, Jason Todd. Do you love me?"

"I do," Jason said in return. "You know I do."

"Then what's stopping us from moving forward? From picking up where we left off?" Donna asked him, trailing her fingers down his shoulder. "I don't know what the future holds, why we're here or anything like that. What I do know is that I love you, and that you love me, and that no one in the world ever made me happier than you."

Jason looked down. "I'm currently stuck in the body of a teenager."

"You'll grow up. We can wait a couple more years before we go back to the fun stuff."

"Your son is still alive."

"You can help me manage my time with him. Nobody knows how to juggle parenting and superheroism like you."

"Roy and Kyle."

"Now you're just fishing for excuses," she accused him, laughing a bit. "I'll talk to them. Don't worry."

Jason smirked slightly at that, though it quickly faded away. "I'm scared of screwing it up again."

Donna reached out to cup one of his cheeks, like he had before with her. "Jason, you're going to screw up. _I_ _'m_ going to screw up. We'll screw it up, we'll hurt each other, because that's how relationships can be sometimes. But as long as we can move past it, make peace with it, _grow_ from it — that'll be enough."

The former Batman smiled at that. "I've missed you, Donna."

The former Wonder Woman leaned her forehead against his. "I've missed you too, Jason."

* * *

When they arrive back to the living room with their hands interlaced, Kon took one look at them and then gave a grateful sigh of relief. "Thank the Lord. I don't think I could have gone through another week of your pining without trying to drown myself in the nearest body of water."

"I hate you," Jason told him bluntly.

"No you don't," Kon sang back.

Jason snapped his teeth at him, causing Kon to laugh and Donna to giggle. "You don't know how good it is to see you two like this again," she said wistfully, cutting in before an argument could start.

"You mean you miss him being an annoying asshole?"

"I'm only like that because you make it so easy, Jason."

"Why I oughta—"

" _Boys_."

The three fell silent as they suddenly remembered the audience they had. The Titans were staring at Donna like they were seeing her for the very first time, while their respective predecessors looked unamused. Upon seeing his father's serious expression, Jason sighed and beckoned Kon over with a finger. The younger hero obliged, and gave Donna's arm a squeeze as he followed Jason outside the room. Clark, Diana, and Bruce did the same, with Donna's sister giving her a similar comforting squeeze on her shoulder. Donna observed their departure, before turning her eyes back to her team, who were all watching her warily.

The Amazon swallowed, and began with a question. "Where do you want to start?"

* * *

While Donna was busy playing Miss Exposition to the Titans like Jason and Kon had done before her, the five heroes had departed for the kitchen, where they were all standing around in silence. Jason had taken out some bread, meats, and other adornments from the pantry and the fridge, and was now making a whole plate of sandwiches for everyone to snack on when she finished. After everything that had happened today, they were all going to need some sustenance.

"Who else on that team besides Nightwing died?" Bruce asked after some more minutes of silence passed, figuring it was up to him to break the stalemate.

Kon placed his elbow on the counter and his face in his palm. "Arsenal, Flash, and Damage," he glanced at Jason, "unless more died after I did."

Jason held up his hands. "Not when I was alive. Might be different for Donna, though."

"And how did they die?" Bruce prompted further.

Jason sighed. "Roy died on a Titans mission, against a squadron of villains he took out himself before succumbing to his wounds. Wally gave his life to restore a damaged Speed Force, and Emerson sacrificed his life to take out a bunch of zombies."

The three heroes blinked. "Zombies?" Clark couldn't help but ask.

Kon and Jason both winced. "We'll talk about that later. Shouldn't be happening for a couple of years anyway," Kon quickly dismissed the question, shuddering.

That answer wasn't satisfying to anyone, but experience over the last several months had told them that they weren't getting more detailed answers any time soon. "Fine then. We need to discuss something else with more urgency anyway."

"You mean the fact that three time travelers from the same timeline ended traveling back in time after their deaths within a year of each other?"

The Trinity stared. Two thirds of the Neo-Trinity stared back.

"Well, at least you aren't letting these miraculous reunions of yours distract you from the strangeness of it all," Bruce commented, narrowing his eyes. Jason simply smiled blandly back at him.

Kon ignored them both. "First it was months between Jason and I. Now it's only been two weeks between me and Donna. If that continues…"

"We don't even know if someone else will be coming back, though," Clark pointed out.

"Perhaps not, but we cannot count on that," Diana countered. "This has happened three times already. At this point, until we pinpoint the source of this, we are going to have to assume someone else will be traveling back soon."

"And right now, we don't have a viable pattern to determine who it will be," Bruce concluded grimly.

This caused Kon, Clark, and Diana to all look at him. "What do you mean, Bruce?"

"Haven't you noticed?" Jason asked, catching their attention. "I died eight years after Kon, and Donna died ten years after me. Yet I was the first one to awaken, followed by Kon, and _then_ Donna. Whoever or whatever is doing this, isn't doing this chronologically."

"And even more than that, we have no guarantee that the next person to awaken will even be a hero," Bruce further pointed out.

All three heroes swallowed upon hearing that analysis. "Well, assume that the next person _is_ a hero — is there any way to determine who it might be? What traits that the three of you share?"

Kon gave his predecessor a flat look. "Clark, any traits we share would be shared with every hero of our generation. That's a _lot_ of heroes with very little distinction."

"Not necessarily."

Everyone turned back to Jason, who had a hand on his chin and was tapping on it thoughtfully. "There's _one_ distinction all three of us share that most heroes don't."

"Which is…?" Kon raised an eyebrow.

"Era 2."

The Kryptonian hybrid blinked and then slapped his forehead. "Of course."

Jason hummed. "The fact that they brought back you only cements it. If there _is_ a pattern, it's that one."

"But if that's the case, then why was I second? And Donna third? We were the last two to join the council. I can understand you, you were first, but us?"

"I don't know, Kon. There's an ulterior motive involved, clearly, and that may be why we're awakening in this order instead of chronologically."

Before Kon could reply to that, Bruce cleared his throat. "Boys. Please."

Jason sighed. "We're referring to the Era 2 Justice League council. All three of use were on it."

"It'd take too long to explain the entire story," Kon added, "but suffice to say the Justice League expanded greatly over the years, so much so that it was decided that a central authority was needed. Hence, a council of 'founders,' based off the original founders of the JL. A Superman, a Batman, a Wonder Woman, a Lantern, an Aquaman, a Martian, and a Flash. Era 2, meanwhile, is a history designation of our specific era."

Clark and Diana blinked. Bruce frowned, processing the information. "And this era started…?"

"When the last member of the original Era 1 council retired," Jason answered, glancing at Diana. "You, Diana. After Donna replaced you, we were officially designated as the initial Era 2 council."

"So you think that the other members of the initial council might be the next ones sent back," Diana surmised. "Why?"

The boys glanced at each other. "Because of me," Kon confessed, "I was the first member of the council to die."

Clark winced. Diana put a comforting hand on his forearm.

"And I was the second. And before you I ask, no, Donna was not the third — according to her, she was the fifth. So that's not a pattern either." Jason sighed again. "It's a weak connection, I'll admit. But right now, it's the only one we have."

"You'll have to inform us of the other four members at the JLA meeting on Sunday," Bruce told them, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We will need to keep an eye on them in case they travel back as well, or until we determine who or what is causing this and stop them. Understood?"

"Of course, Bruce."

"Sure."

Everyone stared at Kon. Kon stared back, smiling placidly.

* * *

They wanted to know more, of course, but both Jason and Kon cited the sheer length of the explanation meant they had no plans to explain it more than once. That meant waiting until the JLA meeting on Sunday. Which had quickly expanded to include the Titans _and_ Young Justice, along with select members of the JSA. With Donna now here, there really was no point in keeping the secret anymore from the rest of the superhero community.

Instead, the five returned to the living room, where Donna's meeting with the Titans had just finished up. Slowly, each one exited the room, casting meaningful looks to Jason and Kon before returning to their own personal chambers. Diana did take Wally aside to inform him of the upcoming JLA meeting, as did Bruce with Dick, so he could inform the Titans of their requested presence there.

The last two to exit were Roy and Donna. Roy pointedly did not look at anyone as he left, especially Jason. This did not escape the notice of the former Batman, who watched him go with a sigh before glancing at Donna, who had made her way stand next to Kon and him.

"How did it go?" he asked, interlacing the fingers again.

Donna exhaled. "Better than I thought it would. Though don't expect him to be talking to you in a casual setting for a while now."

Jason nodded absentmindedly. "There's still Kyle. Though, that might not be a problem."

She shot him a look. "You don't think…?"

"It might be a possibility. All three of us have many connections, Donna, but only one stands out among all of them."

"He's right, Donna," Kon agreed, interjecting himself into the conversation. "We can't dismiss the possibility."

The Amazon put a hand to her face. "What a mess."

"Agreed," the boys chorused.

"If you three are done, then Troy, we expect you to arrive at the Watchtower at this time," Bruce cut in, handing the young woman a slip of paper. "Diana will pick you up."

Donna nodded, analyzing the paper. "I assume the JLA will be there as well as the Titans?"

"Along with select members of the JSA and Young Justice."

Upon hearing the last team, Donna froze. "Young…Justice?"

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem with that?" he asked, though his eyes were on Jason.

Jason ignored him, instead placing another hand on the one he was holding. "Are you going to be alright? Kon and I can handle it, we've had more time to… _prepare_ ourselves. You've only just gotten here. They'd understand."

Donna inhaled deeply. "No, no. I'll…I'll be fine. It'll be nice, to…" she trailed off, and then sighed again. "I feel uncomfortable here, at the Tower right now," she said instead. "Is it alright if I stay at one of your homes for the time being?"

Her lover glanced at his father, a silent battle of wills. Then Jason glanced back at Donna with a smile. "Of course, Donna. You know you're always welcome at the Manor." Bruce grunted, but Jason ignored him.

She smiled, and bent down to give Jason a kiss on the cheek and a meaningful squeeze to Kon's shoulder before departing for her own chambers to go pack. Everyone watched her go, and then the three non-time travelers gave pointed looks to the remaining two people present the moment they were sure she was out of earshot. "Does Donna have some kind of issue with the Young Justice team?" Diana asked, sounding very worried.

"Not specifically," Jason explained, rubbing his arm. "Just Cassie."

"After Dick died, Donna left for Themyscira and stayed there for ten years," Kon elaborated. "After five or so years, Cassie started trying to convince her to return, but Donna refused. They had a major fallout over it, and didn't reconcile until the war between the Olympians and the Titans of Myth, as most of the war happened on Themyscira. And then, well…Cassie died."

"In Donna's arms," Jason finished.

Clark and Bruce closed their eyes at that, while Diana had a much more visible reaction. She muttered, "Oh Hera, _no_ ," and buried her face into one of her hands in what was becoming an increasingly familiar gesture.

"Yeah," Jason said shortly, sounding very uncomfortable and regretful. "It's going to be hard for Donna to see her again. Not to mention the _other_ stuff that Cassie needs to know."

Diana's snapped up. "What 'other' stuff?"

Jason held up his hands, as did Kon. "Not telling. Diana, I'm sure Donna will probably tell you, but in the end that secret is between Cassie and her mom. I'm sure Donna will try to convince her to tell Cassie the truth but until then, our lips are sealed."

She gave them both a pointed stare at that. "Very well then. I shall speak to Donna about the matter later. But eventually everything will have to come out, you realize?"

"We do," Kon answered for them both, serious. "But give us time, please."

The current Trinity shared a look. "We will," Bruce finally said. "Just don't expect everyone else to, though."

* * *

Donna had stayed long enough to change into civilian clothing, pack, and inform Dick of her decision to stay at the Manor for the time being. He was understanding (because of course he was, he was Dick Grayson, and there were moments when Donna wanted to hug him and never let go) and saw her off in the Bat-Plane with Bruce, Jason and Kon.

As she laid back into her seat, taking comfort in the familiar thrum of a plane, she spoke. "What is it, Jason?"

"…Are you going to visit your son?"

The Amazon closed her eyes. "…I don't know. It's been so long, Jason. So many years for that wound to scab over, to begin to heal. I don't know what I'll do if I see him — _or_ my ex-husband."

Jason snorted. "Need me to deal with him?"

Donna smirked. "Nah. The last person I'm scared of is Terry Long." The smirk faded. "It's going to hurt, no matter how much I prepare myself for it. Some part of me wants to stay away, so they'll be safe. But…"

"…that's not true. Not by a longshot," Jason finished.

There was a moment of silence.

"I don't want to fail him again, Jason," Donna confessed quietly.

Jason reached over to gently take her hand. A natural act, something they had both long missed. "You won't, Donna. Dark Angel is gone, and you have us to help out if you need us to. I promise."

Donna didn't say anything. The squeeze she gave his hand said enough.

* * *

They arrived back to the Bat-Cave within half an hour. Alfred, already informed about the situation via a secure comm link, was waiting for them. He had taken the time to set up an extra room for Donna, along with an extra setting at the dining table. They had arrived in time for dinner.

He wordlessly took her bags with his usual grace, smiling genuinely at Donna's proffered gratitude, before ascending up the elevator to drop them off. Donna waited in the Cave while the others changed out of their suits, and then followed Alfred upstairs with them. Upon exiting the elevator, however, Donna found herself blinking when she saw five pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Wow," Stephanie Brown breathed out. "You're pretty."

Cassandra Cain-Wayne nodded silently next to her. Timothy Drake Wayne raised a hand. "Hi, Donna."

"Troy," Damian Wayne sneered in an oddly welcoming way.

"Donna!" Jon Kent squealed, before launching himself at her legs.

Donna laughed and gently pressed her hands against his small shoulders. "It's good to see you too, Jon," she told him, before glancing up at the others. "It's good to see _all_ of you. Or meet some of you, in certain cases." A knowing smile crossed her face.

Jon was completely unaware of the implications, but everyone else — who Donna had been duly informed was aware of the time travel, adopted uncertain, if understanding expressions. After finally prying Jon off her legs, introductions were made (as unnecessary as they were) and they headed off to the dining room for dinner.

* * *

"Timothy, from what I understand there is an event at school. Called… 'spring break,'" Damian spoke up suddenly, while in the midst of dinner half an hour later.

Kon blinked. "'Timothy'?" he muttered to Jason, who was sitting next to him at one end of the table, across from Bruce.

"Bet," Jason responded bluntly.

The Kryptonian hybrid let out a silent 'ah'.

Tim raised an eyebrow at his younger brother. "Yes. What about it?"

"I wish to know what you and Brown plan to do for it. I have already petitioned father to allow me to stay on the Kent Farm with Jon. Fortuitously, our breaks coincide with each other."

Kon looked pained at the idea of having to live with Jon and Damian on the same property for a week with only Ma and Pa as potential buffers. Jason patted him on the shoulder while Donna passed him the mashed potatoes. He swatted the hand away and began piling potatoes onto his plate.

"And why do you need to know that?" Tim asked, suspicious.

"I do not wish to come back and learn that I have a new niece or nephew in the works."

There was a dead silence.

Jason groaned. " _Da-mi-an_ ," he said, putting emphasis on every syllable of his youngest brother's name.

Stephanie broke out of her horrified trance. "Okay 1. that is none of your business, munchkin, and 2. why would that even matter for you?"

"The school is implementing class elections for the third grade next year. I wish to run. It shall be good practice for when I take over the world."

Donna snorted. Kon tried to bury his laughter into his food. Jason let out a long-practiced sigh and started muttering something about increasing surveillance at Gotham Academy, 'privacy issues be damned'.

Everyone else was still staring at Damian at stunned horror, except for sweet, innocent Jon, who was happily munching away at his dinner. Jason envied him, he really did. Then again, the child would probably end up Damian's loyal lapdog and muscle when he was older. Hopefully Lois wouldn't murder them all for that.

* * *

"I'm glad to see your family hasn't changed one bit, Jason," Donna teased after dinner finished and they began passing the plates to Alfred to be cleaned. Everyone else had already left the dining room; the three had offered to help with the cleaning, as it gave them some privacy.

Jason grumbled something unintelligible. Kon licked the remains of his dessert off his spoon. "So what now?" he asked after he was done.

"We got a day off tomorrow while Bruce meets with the JLA and JSA and explains the situation. I have to do some research down in the Cave but you two are free to do whatever you want for tonight. Tomorrow, we can go out and have a day in Gotham if you want."

Kon shrugged. "Eh, why not? It'll nice to see old Gotham and compare it to Neo-Gotham," he winced, "well, except for the higher crime rates."

Donna crossed her arms. "How likely is it that someone tries to mug us in broad daylight?"

Jason paused. "Actually, not that likely. Things have been kind of quiet since the Joker was caught and sent back to Arkham six months back."

There was a pause.

"That's not good, is it?" Donna wondered.

"Nope."

"Yeah, no. I'll check the Arkham feeds while I'm down there. After the incident with Dark Angel, Bruce benched me from patrol for the weekend, so I've got plenty of free time tonight."

"You're obeying him?" Donna sounded incredulous.

"I take it Master Jason was something of a workaholic?" Alfred, who had remained silent for most of the duration of the conversation, asked with a resigned tone.

"Yes," Kon and Donna stated in unison.

Alfred glanced at his surrogate grandson, who shrugged. "I never said I wasn't one, Alfred. I just managed it better than Tim."

"If only because your kids regularly drugged you and you sister," Kon reminded him with a deadpan tone.

Jason looked entirely unapologetic. In fact, he looked a bit offended. "Don't deride my children's hard work! It was one of the proudest days of my life when Terry managed to slip something in my drink without me noticing."

"Jason, you were an amazing father, but it's statements like that which make me question your family's lifestyle," Donna flatly stated.

The former Batman glared at them both before sighing and slumping his shoulders. "I know," he moaned.

Kon did the customary pat on the back. It didn't help.

* * *

With Jason down in the Bat-Cave, the children and co. elected to have a video game night in one of the Manor's many recreational rooms. Despite technically being far too old for these kinds of games, that didn't stop Kon or Donna from enjoying themselves. The simple enjoyment of playing old school video games and watching Tim and Damian's nostalgic bickering was a great distraction from all that they knew was and wasn't to come.

After someone managed to spill the popcorn bowl, Donna had elected to be the one to step outside and pick up some more. The moment she did so, however, she found herself confronted by the last person she wanted to see — Bruce.

The older (younger?) man was dressed up in some casual wear: a tight, short-sleeved shirt and a pair of black slacks and shoes. Donna was reminded of Jason almost immediately, and resisted the urge to sigh. Judging by the look on Bruce's face, she knew exactly where this upcoming conversation was about to go.

"What is your relationship with my son?" The first Batman demanded, crossing his arms.

"We're lovers," Donna replied, seeing no point in beating around the bush.

A beat. It was obvious Bruce hadn't expected her to answer so quickly and bluntly, judging by the way he blinked at the answer. Donna clicked her teeth.

"Bruce, I've seen this song and dance with your son and his children way more times than I can count. Don't think for one moment you can scare me away," she continued on. "Jason, despite his physical age, is an adult older than you by at least a decade. He is fully capable of making his own choices."

Bruce's brain finally rebooted. "I—Well—" Kinda.

Donna took pity on him. "Don't worry. We agreed that we won't continue our sexual relationship until he's at least legally an adult again. You won't be a grandfather any time soon."

That was too much. The poor man buried his face into his hands. " _Why?_ " he asked the world.

The other adult shook her head and patted him on the back. Why, indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than usual but I don't mind thanks to the extra long chapter I gave you all. I glossed over the Titans talk because I was sick of exposition and there wasn't going to be much difference between what we saw with Kon. Plus, I thought the stuff with Donna and Jason was enough feels for one chapter.
> 
> And as for the Era 2 stuff — don't worry. You'll be getting full explanation of _that_ later.
> 
> In other news, I've modified the properties of the FFN version so it's a crossover between Batman and Justice League instead. I should have done that from the beginning, but better late than never. This is just a warning, in case you think you have the wrong story.
> 
> Next chapter: Other stuff.


	9. A Day Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason, Donna, and Kon try to relax. It’s one day before the big meeting, after all.

"Hera, I've missed your cooking," Donna moaned as she took another bite of her pancakes.

Jason smirked as he took a sip of his orange juice. "I see. _That_ _'s_ your motive for getting back together with me: so I can be your house husband and make you food everyday."

"Curses! You've discovered my evil plot! But no matter, I shall still ensnare you so!"

"You already have," Jason teased, as Donna and him exchanged loving gazes.

Kon swallowed a bite of his eggs. "Okay, now I'm starting to regret getting you two back together. You're somehow _worse_ than you were before."

"Your own fault, Kon," Donna told him, feeling absolutely no sympathy. "Your own fault."

It was early in the morning for breakfast. Everyone else was still fast asleep, except for them and Alfred, who was currently making breakfast for the rest of the family. Right now, it was just them in the breakfast nook.

"So," Kon asked as he set his utensils down, completely satisfied as much as a Kryptonian hybrid could be, "what are we doing today?"

"Young Justice has the weekend off thanks to the meeting tomorrow, so I told Bruce to take the kids to the amusement park so we can have the day to ourselves," Jason revealed.

Donna placed her chin in her hand and her elbow on the table. "You already checked out our rooms and everything for bugs, didn't you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Of course I did — what do you take me for, an amateur?"

Kon shook his head. "Only your family, Jay. Only your family."

* * *

Of course, it wasn't that easy. While the children liked the idea of heading to an amusement park well enough (outside of Gotham, of course — going to amusement parks within the city limits was just asking for trouble), they surprisingly didn't react well to the idea of Jason, Donna, and Kon not going with them. Of course, all of them except Jon — and really, at this point, they should consider telling Jon already, if only just to get it out of the way — knew _why_ those three were going off on their own, but it seemed that wasn't a sufficient excuse. It appeared the group had really bonded with Donna and to a lesser extent, Kon, the night before.

"Why are you going with Jason?" Stephanie whined. "He's boring and we're cooler than him."

"Wow, Steph, really feeling the love there," Jason said dryly.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Kon demanded.

Tim shrugged. "You're the one who said it, not us."

Donna smiled. "I'm sure you are," she told Stephanie warmly, ignoring the 'Hey!' Jason shouted in the background, "but it's been a while since I've seen these two and I need to reconnect with them first. We'll all go out together another time, alright?"

Stephanie sniffed. "Very well then. Come along Cass, Tim let's go outside and make sure Dami and Jon haven't set fire to the car already."

"You don't really think they'd set fire to the car, do you?" Tim asked Jason as he was dragged away by his girlfriend and sister.

"I don't know. I mean, Jon's powers are still developing, and Damian is, well, _Damian_."

"Right," Tim cringed. "Are you _sure_ you don't want to come?" Jason was the best in the family at handling Damian, after all.

"You lot need to learn how to handle him without me," Jason bluntly responded.

"I hate you," Tim told him flatly.

" _Sure_ you do, Tim."

"Enough, boys," Bruce rumbled, coming down the stairs with a pair of black sunglasses on his face. Tim scoffed and followed his girlfriend and sister out the door. Bruce moved to follow him, but not before giving a severe look to the time travelers. A look that had even the most defiant heroes and villains quaking in their boots.

Absolutely none of the three looked intimidated in the least. Donna was still smiling blandly. Jason crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow. Kon _yawned_.

_I hate time travel_. Bruce quickly decided.

* * *

"Okay, so where are we going? Robinson Park? The mall?" Kon asked hours later in their own car. He was sitting in the back seat, while Jason was driving in the front with Donna in shotgun.

"Mall," Jason answered. "Need to do some shopping and we can eat in a restaurant there. And before you ask, yes, I brought the white noise machine, so no one should be able to overhear our conversations."

"What if the others do come?" Donna suddenly asked, leaning against her window. "How do you think everyone will react?"

Jason winced. "Wallace will probably be fine, and J'onn should come around eventually with M'gann, but it's going to be a while until Kaldur earns Aquaman's trust."

"Unless he tells Arthur what he did to Black Manta in the last timeline," Kon pointed out.

"Yeah, but you know how difficult that was for Kaldur to talk about in general. It's going to be even more difficult considering Manta is alive right now."

"True," Kon admitted. "I mean as much as he hated the guy, and as much as a monster he turned out to be, Manta _was_ his father."

Donna hummed. "As bad as Kaldur might have it, though, I think Kyle will have it even worse. He'll be so different compared to what they're used to, especially since Alex didn't die in this timeline—"

"Wait, Alex is alive?" Kon cut in, sounding genuinely shocked.

"Yup," Jason answered, hitting the horn on his car. Freaking Gotham traffic. "I was surprised when I heard too. Apparently they never got back together, so Major Force never went after her. Kyle figured out the ring with Alan Scott's help."

"So he's still in awe of the whole superhero thing."

Donna sighed. "Like you wouldn't believe. It's been months and the others still treat him like a kid. Granted, he still kind of acts like one, so…" she gave a half-shrug.

Kon leaned back into his seat. "And when you compare that to our Kyle…" he trailed off, and there was a collective wince. There was a reason Kyle Rayner had been the most feared member of the Era 2 Council, after all.

"Well, there's no guarantee any of them will come back, so we'll deal with it as it comes," Jason said with finality.

Donna, however, was not so convinced. "What if a villain comes back?" she blurted out. "Hell, what if a villain from our time is responsible for all this?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Like I said," Jason replied, tightening his grip on the wheel of his car. "We'll deal with it as it comes."

* * *

Compared to that tense conversation, the rest of the trip was relatively benign. They arrived at the mall with little fanfare and quickly found a decent Japanese restaurant to eat at. After ordering three bentos for themselves, they got into really talking about what had been going on in their lives lately. There were inquiries about how Donna's talk with the Titans went, along with Jason confessing more details about what he had been up to before Kon arrived. Including the possibility of opening up his diner again in Crime Alley.

"I'm trying to clean the place up before I decide," Jason explained over his bento. "It was one thing when I was Red Hood and everyone was terrified of me even after I went straight, but as Gotham Knight it's harder because I'm basically meaner Nightwing."

Donna snorted. "'Meaner Nightwing' — oh, if only Dick were around right now to hear that."

Kon dropped his chopsticks. "That does it. I'm going to tell him."

"Don't you _dare_ Conner Kent—!"

"Nah-ah!" Kon stuck out his tongue. "You can't tell me what to do!"

"How in the hell are you an adult?" Jason demanded.

His best friend grinned. "Technically I'm not, remember?"

"Ah, right. Your body finally matches your mental age, being a year old and all."

"Oh, screw you Jay."

"Alack, here I am, the perpetual peanut gallery!" Donna proclaimed with mock despair.

Jason crossed his arms. "Which has worked greatly for you over the years, judging by the amount blackmail material you held over us all."

"Please. Like you didn't have our entire lives on video in the Bat-Computer."

The former Batman dipped his head, conceding the point.

"How much do you want to bet Bruce has been modifying all our profiles on the Computer since we got here?" Kon wondered.

Both Jason and Donna gave him flat looks.

"Yeah, right. Stupid question."

"He does know you have access to those too, right?" Donna asked her boyfriend.

"Of course he does. We just don't _talk_ about it."

"Stupid Bats and your stupid 'you know I know you know' routines," Kon half-heartedly grumbled.

Jason ignored him. "Kinda like how he knows I didn't actually delete his contingency plans for the JLA but rather transcribed them on paper and hid them in the maximum security vault we keep in the Cave. You know, since you can't hack hard copies and all."

Donna hummed. "That's no longer going to be an issue, is it? Since you killed Ra's?"

Jason shrugged. "Maybe. Ra's isn't the only smart person in the world who would be able to figure it out and use it to their advantage. Then again, he's one of the few who had the resources to try and find them anyway."

"We should be prepared for that. And for the potential fallout."

"I mean, we're okay with it," Kon pointed out.

"Because we've been working with the Bats and their paranoia for _decades_ , Kon," Donna countered. "By our time there had been so many situations where they proved necessary that not only was it expected that any Bat on a team had contingencies to disarm their teammates, but it was also outright considered _part of their job_."

"And that is something I shall forever be grateful for," Jason claimed. "It made my life so much easier."

"Yay for you," Kon said dryly.

"The JLA would've been a lot more accepting of the existence of those plans if they had not been used against them by Ra's al Ghul, without provocation," Donna continued, ignoring the byplay. "But they _were_ , and it became the first domino in a very long line of them that led to, well…"

The table fell silent.

"I've already handled Jean Loring, not that it helped in the end when it came to Jack Drake," Jason mentioned the last part bitterly. "But Eclipso is still an issue. And that doesn't account for Light."

"All he needs is a trigger and he'll remember," Kon muttered. "And that will finally give Luthor Jr. and Prime the opening they need."

"We can cut them off at the pass, expose Luthor early," Donna started, only for Jason to hold up his hand.

"And do you think any villain will believe us once what happened to Light spreads?"

Donna bit her lip. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

Jason leaned his chin against his hand. "I'd say we find the real Luthor and have him expose Luthor Jr., but then again Luthor was already working against him using the Secret Six. So our next best option is keeping the heroes of the world united instead. And, well, dealing with Maxwell Lord before Diana has to kill him on live television."

There was a collective flinch at the reminder of that incident.

"He hasn't done anything illegal though, yet."

" _Yet_." Maxwell Lord's plan, after all, had been in the works for a _very_ long time.

"And keeping the heroes of the world united? Jason, it took _years_ to make that happen, and even then…" Donna cut herself off. The memory was still painful, even now.

Jason sighed. "Look. I know it's a tall order. But I don't want to lose either of you, or any of them. At least not until they're old and gray and their kids have kids. So, we'll do it. No matter how much or how long it takes."

"Things are never easy with this job, are they?" Kon noted in a mournful fashion.

"Never," Donna agreed, taking a sip of her water.

* * *

There was no longer anymore 'shop talk' as it were for the rest of the visit to the mall. Instead, they went and did some actual shopping. Jason had a credit card and a rich father, and two friends who was eager to reconnect with. They had to be careful with their words, unlike in the restaurant, and Jason and Donna had to resist the urge to be more affectionate in public (not an entirely difficult task, considering their own attempts to hide their relationship in the previous timeline), but for the most part, the trip went alright. It was _nice_ , not having to play the adult. To just hang out with friends without the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Jason was self-aware enough to recognize how lonely he had been when he first arrived in this timeline. It had been easy to push it away because he had his family to focus on. Studying Gotham. Training his body, training Tim and then Cass and now Stephanie as well. He loved his family, he _did_ , but… family wasn't enough. Not for a social life, at least.

It felt wrong, to be happy like this. He had his lover and his best friend back, but at a cost — the same cost he had to pay over nine months ago. They were good at hiding it, but Jason knew them both too well to the shadow of grief hanging over them. Kon missed Hiyori, missed Van, was now an adult in a time when his three closest friends growing up were still children. And Donna…

Robert was the obvious one, the one that all three of them had zeroed in on. And Roy, of course, if only in relation to what she had with Jason. But there were also the others too. Of the current iteration of the Titans, only Kori and Victor had maintained their friendships with Donna due to still being affiliated with the team in the future. Jesse Chambers and Toni Monetti had long retired from the superhero life to raise their own families. Everyone else had died. To Donna, they had been dead for more than thirty years, and unlike Kon or him, they hadn't traveled back in time.

Donna hadn't been a Titan in over three decades. The Tower was foreign to her. Jason had gone back to the Manor because his entire life had been in that house. The same with Kon and the Kent Farm. Donna had no such home here, beyond, Themyscira — just an apartment in New York City that she occasionally crashed in when she wasn't crashing with one of them or at the Watchtower. An apartment that probably didn't even _exist_ yet. She didn't have a home, not like they did.

She was lost. Maybe that's why she had asked to stay with them. She was lost, and they were the only people in the world that felt even remotely familiar. They might have been dead to her too, once, but they understood in a way that no one else ever would.

"What are you thinking about?" Donna asked, piercing his thoughts.

They were laying down on a hill in the Wayne Estate, watching the sunset. Bruce and the others were on the way home, and the three of them decided that they wanted some peace and quiet before the children arrived and the chaos started all over again. Some rest before they went through the meeting with the JLA and had to explain everything to them.

Jason had his arms folded behind his head, eyes completely on the sky. Donna laid next to him, her head on his chest. Kon was on the other side of him, legs spread and bent, with his arms hanging off his knees. It was almost picturesque, the way they had arranged themselves.

"I'm just wondering why things turned out like this," Jason confessed, eyes diverting towards Donna. "Why we're here and now. Why…"

Donna placed a hand on his heart. "We'll figure it out, Jason. We always do, don't we?"

"Yeah. We always do." A pause. "I know this, all of this, it isn't ideal, but… I'm glad you two are here, you know?"

"Same," Kon admitted.

"I've missed you both," Donna confessed. "I loved the others, but it just wasn't the same without the two of you, and we all knew it."

"It's not going to be same now, though," Jason reminded her.

Donna pursed her lips. "No. I guess it won't be. Nothing will ever be the same again, will it?"

Kon shrugged. "Maybe not. But that's not a bad thing. Not entirely, at least."

Another beat. Kon was right of course. There was good in this situation too. It was just a little harder to see.

"…I'm scared about the meeting tomorrow. We're going to get grilled."

"I hope Diana doesn't make us use the Lasso during it. We're never going to be able to talk around things with it on."

"And of course, that's what _you_ were worried about, Jay."

"Hey, do you want to be the one to tell Aquaman that one of his successors is the biological son of his worst enemy and that his estranged wife has been lying to him for most of their relationship?"

Kon blinked. "Shit."

"Yeah. Plus the whole white martian thing with M'gann, and oh my God, how are we supposed to explain that Wallace isn't actually supposed to exist?"

Donna also blinked, and sat up abruptly, pressing her hand against Jason's chest roughly. "Wait, Wallace is already here? With no Flashpoint?"

"Yeah," Jason confirmed, also sitting up. "That was one of the things I was confirming last night. He's here, and he's currently living with Iris West-Allen right now. Apparently his mom died a couple years earlier than she did originally."

"So," Kon started, hands beginning to shake, "we're going to have to explain, to the _entire_ Flash family, that not only is Barry Allen alive, but he also tried to change the past after he came back, only to create an absolutely horrific timeline, and then changed it back, and in the process gave a reality warper from another universe the opportunity to overwrite our timeline with a new one. And then, even after restoring the original timeline, some changes still lingered, such as one of their members who didn't exist until Barry changed the past and then changed it back."

Jason thought his answer over for a moment. "…Yes."

Kon groaned. "Okay, forget what I said before, all of this bones."

Donna sighed. "Don't worry Kon, I'll handle it. Wally trusts me, so he'll listen to me."

"And if that doesn't help, Bart trusts _you_ Kon, and Dick trusts me and Wally trusts Dick, so…" Jason hummed. "Huh. We actually got a lot going for us."

"The question is…after we explain everything, what are we going to do?" Donna asked, biting her lip. "We can't just sit back anymore. _Something_ is coming, and I'm scared that whatever it is, the heroes of this time won't be able to handle it. Not as they are now."

Jason and Kon exchanged glances. "Well, we can't do anything about the adults," Jason pointed out. "They'll have enough issues trusting us as is. The kids though — I'm already teaching Tim, Cass, and Steph right now. I've handled more students than that. All of us have."

"Mount Justice, the Secret Sanctuary, they're too well-known," Kon noted. "But our second base in the Catskills isn't. If I remember correctly, Bruce bought it and had Oracle lead us there so we could use it. Of course, we didn't know that at the time…"

"But it's remote, right?" Donna asked, catching on.

"It is. Might need some fixing up, but since we've got some speedsters with construction skills on hand, that's not much of an issue."

"And of course," Jason finished, smirking slightly, "I've got the money to pay for it all."

The three time travelers felt smiles gradually grow on their faces.

"Training System 2.0?" Kon said hopefully.

"Training System 2.0," his friends chorused.

Kon clapped his hands. "Great. Now we just gotta convince everyone else."

* * *

" _You want to_ what _?_ " Diana and Clark chorused on the Bat-Computer's screen. Beneath them, sitting in the chair, was Bruce, who had cocked an eyebrow. Unlike them, he looked positively intrigued.

"A training camp? For young heroes?" He locked his hands together. "Tell me, what spurned this on?"

Jason, Donna, and Kon all exchanged looks. "Well, we can all agree something is coming, right?" Jason started off, looking up at the three other heroes. He got swallows and nods in return. "Okay, good. And we can agree we need to prepare for not just that, but everything that comes after. Especially since adult heroes aren't always going to be around."

"We actually had this idea back in our timeline. We created an entire training system for young heroes and adult heroes just starting out. To help learn the skills they needed and gather the experience necessary to survive this life," Kon further explained. "Obviously, we can't implement that training system right now in this timeline, since it'll take time to set up. Time we don't have. But if we can present something of a test case, and then expand from there, it will make things easier for us in the long run."

" _But how would this work? Who would be the first students?_ "

Kon shrugged. "Young Justice, obviously. They're involved thanks to me, and I bet their guardians and parents would prefer them training instead of doing missions." He made a face. "Except for Cissie's mom, but I can make her come around. Jason also wants Cass in there too."

"She needs to know how to work with people outside of the Family," Jason told Bruce, who had given him a look at that. Bruce paused for a moment, then gave a single nod. That was fair.

"We were thinking of poaching Stargirl too," Donna commented. "We know she's currently a member of the JSA, but it would benefit her to learn with people her own age. We'll add more students if the camp proves to be successful."

"You do realize this will take up a lot of your time, don't you? I guess that isn't an issue for you, Jason, nor you, Kon-El, but Troy, you have an obligation to the Titans," Bruce reminded her shrewdly.

Donna faltered upon hearing that, letting out a resigned sigh.

On the screen, Diana's eyes popped out. " _Donna, little sister, do not tell me you are thinking of leaving the Titans?_ "

"Not entirely, Diana," Donna quickly corrected her. "Just… part-timing. Only taking part in the more serious situations, where all hands on deck are needed. I…" she trailed off for a moment, before her expression firmed. "I can't be a full-time superhero anymore. Not this time. Not with my son alive."

Her predecessor made to argue back, only to still as something dawned her. " _Alive? What do you mean by that, Donna? My nephew, he_ _—_ "

"Died. In a car crash, caused by Dark Angel." Donna inhaled deeply. "Him, along with my ex-husband and my former stepdaughter. He was three."

Tears gathered in Diana's eyes. " _Oh, Donna_ _…_ " On the other half of the screen, Clark had adopted a grim and sympathetic look. Even Bruce was not immune, his face visibly softening and darkening with melancholy. He was no doubt remembering Jason's own death over a year prior.

Donna crossed her arms, face filled with resolve and sorrow. "I already told Dick I was reconsidering my membership with the team, but honestly, my mind was made up the moment I realized Robert was alive. I loved being a Titan, Diana, make no mistake, but I haven't been one in over thirty years and right now, I have other people in my life who need me more." She gave a meaningful look to Jason as she said the last part.

"I'm going to tell him and the rest of the Titans my decision tomorrow, after the meeting. After that, I'm going to move out of the Tower and stay at Wayne Manor until I can find my own place and then try to get shared custody of Robert so I can spend more time with him. In the meantime, that should free enough of my schedule to allow me to help with the training camp."

Diana swallowed. " _Very well. If that is what you want, little sister, then I will support you._ "

Donna smiled up at the screen. "Thank you, big sister."

As Jason watched the exchange, he found that what he wasn't entirely surprised by the decision. Donna had confessed to him once, during one of their many outings, that one of the reasons why her relationship with Long hadn't worked out was because of the age difference. Simply put, Donna had been too young for him. Long was a college professor, almost thirty years old, with a daughter from a previous marriage. He was ready to settle down.

Donna wasn't. At the time, she was still young, vibrant, eager for excitement. She hadn't been ready to settle down at all, to be the wife Long wanted, the mother her son needed. As much as the two might have loved each other, the marriage was a mistake for that alone. That was only made all the more obvious when it became clear that Donna wasn't ready to leave behind the superhero life.

Jason could sympathize, because that was the reason why he ultimately couldn't bring himself to take in Lian after her father died. He had been too young, too unsettled, to give her the stability she needed. By the time he had become the person he needed to be in order to be her guardian, she had long been happily in the custody of her adoptive grandparents. She didn't need him anymore, not in that capacity at least.

Things were different now for Donna as well. Donna was now a sixty-five year old woman who had been a superhero for a collective _forty-three years_. She might as well be a contemporary of the older members of the JSA. Years of years of being worn down by superheroism, of watching friends and loved ones die while she stayed virtually the same, had taken its toll. This Donna had been ready to settle down for a _very_ long time.

" _I take it you three already some idea of how this is going to work?_ " Clark's slightly static voice said, bringing Jason out of his thoughts.

"We've got a general idea. We'll work on the specifics if we get some support at the meeting tomorrow. But we do have an idea of where it would take place," Jason quickly responded.

" _And that would be_ _…?_ "

"The place that would have been Young Justice's second base," Kon answered, rubbing the back of his head. "An abandoned resort in the Catskills. Bruce originally bought it and had Oracle lead Young Justice to it after Mount Justice had been compromised. We were originally going to go back to the Secret Sanctuary, but ultimately we never left the place and it became our new HQ. It has a lot of space and is remote enough that they should be safe during training."

" _What of the curriculum? What would you be teaching them?_ " Diana asked, having managed to finally compose herself after her emotional conversation with her sister.

"Obviously, we would help furthering their individual training, give them new perspectives to consider. Other than that, we do have generalized specialties that will benefit all of them," Donna outlined. "I, for one, was in charge of physical conditioning and combat, and Jason was in charge of strategy and tactics."

Clark frowned. " _What about you, Kon-El?_ "

"Empathy," Kon answered. At the questioning looks, he sighed. "Comforting panicking civilians, talking down people trying to commit suicide, understanding and reconciling conflicts — that sort of thing. It's a skill as much as it is a quality, as we've come to learn over the years. One that is every bit as valuable as being able to throw a punch."

It was obvious that the older heroes hadn't really thought of empathy that way, and their expressions became more thoughtful. "That is a unique perspective, one that I haven't really thought of before," Bruce admitted, tilting his head. "If the camp does happen, would you be teaching that to the children?"

"Yes," Kon replied, lips pressed in a line. "Young Justice was some of the best years of my life. However, I have to admit that when we were first starting out, we didn't really have a grasp of the harsher realities of life. Certainly, there were dark moments, including one that caused one of us to quit, but, for the most part, it was just…fun. And it was good, for a while, but now…" he exhaled. "I can't leave them like this, knowing everything that's to come. Not when I can give them the skills to survive it all. And if that means ending the enjoyment in all this, well — being superhero isn't about fun and games anyway. They're young, sure, but it's better they learn that lesson now with us, than at a later date."

_Like we did last time_ , is what he didn't say, and he deliberately avoided looking at Donna. She was probably thinking about it as well, as was Jason. Kon reminded himself to go hunting for that Superman android the moment they had some free time. The sooner that was gone, the better.

There was a moment of silence as the three members of the original Trinity exchanged another look among themselves. A silent conversation, not unlike the ones their successors had been exchanging ever since Donna had come back. After a minute or so, they seemed to come sort of decision.

"Very well then," Bruce said, the chosen spokesman. "When you propose this at the meeting tomorrow, you will have our support. However, do expect everyone to be hesitant at first. Even with us vouching for you, not everyone will be sold on the idea." _Not everyone will trust you right off the bat._

Jason waved him off. "It's nothing we haven't dealt with before, so don't worry. We'll be fine. If that's it for tonight, I'm going to hit the hay. Tomorrow is a big day, after all."

There were murmurs of agreement from his fellow time travelers. Bruce sighed, and could only agree. Tomorrow was going to be a big day indeed.

* * *

Jason licked his lips as he finished the last pages of his book, before getting up to put it back on his book shelf. Just as he did so, he heard a knock on the door. Sighing, he smoothed out his shirt and pajama pants before going to open it.

He was not surprised in the least to see Kon standing there. Nor Donna. Both had pillows in their arms. Silently, Jason stepped aside to let them in. His bed was big enough for the three of them anyway.

"I'm sleeping between you two," Kon announced before anyone else could say anything. "I don't want any funny stuff going on at night."

"Boys," Donna cut in before an argument could erupt. "To bed. I want to be fully alert tomorrow when we face everyone. It's going to be a long day."

"Of course, Donna," Jason answered smoothly. Kon coughed a 'Whipped!' into his hand. That earned him a shove, which was responded with a snicker. Another quelling look from Donna silenced them, and soon they were clamoring up Jason's large, California King-sized bed together.

"You're family is so goddamn rich, Jason," Kon muttered as he settled into the center. "Makes that whole 'Eat the Rich' manifesto all the more understandable."

"Yeah, well, our big bucks are why superheroes can do even half of what we do, so don't buy into it too much Kon," Jason responded, laying on Kon's right.

"And we are all thankful for that, Jason," Donna said dryly, yawning. "Now please — go to sleep."

Jason sighed and proceeded to do exactly that.

It was the best sleep he had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than usual, but again, extra long interlude. Now we begin the first steps for the training system, which will be a major feature of this fic. I hope you like it.
> 
> Next chapter: the meeting.


	10. Meeting of Doom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big meeting is here. Jason, Kon, and Donna try to survive it without getting their heads bitten off.

The superhero world was in a tizzy.

Granted, it was always in something of a tizzy. Evil rested for no hero, and there was always something, somewhere, that required the attention of a superhero. Or multiple superheroes. Whichever handled the problem sufficiently with minimal casualties. The world was a strange place, to say the least.

However, this tizzy was a _different_ kind of tizzy. A tension, building between heroes all across the globe. One of the quirks of being in a profession like superheroism is that the community was incredibly varied and _incredibly_ tight-knit. Everyone knew each other. Or, they knew someone who knew someone. And while they didn't always _get along_ , they still talked. So when word spread about a big upcoming JLA meeting, it spread _fast_. Especially when it was revealed that the Titans and Young Justice had been invited to the meeting as well. Once word got out that even JSA members had been invited, the rumor mill started running hard.

What was it about? Could it be about the recent run-in with the demon chick the Titans had? But no, apparently the meeting had been set even before that incident. Then what about that weird glow Superboy had at the end of the recent incident with Klarion…Bum, Bum, _**Bum**_ …the Witch Boy? Could it be about that? So many questions, unanswered. And superheroes _never_ liked unanswered questions.

It was for that reason the meeting was happening. The JLA and JSA would finally be getting answers. As to whether they would _like_ those answers, well… no one ever said anything about _that_.

Something that everyone involved was _painfully_ aware of.

* * *

"Time travel," Arthur stated bluntly, crossing his arms. Next to him, the rest of the JLA—Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Plastic Man, Steel, and a slew of others—and the three chair members of the JSA, Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, and Ted Grant, were all looking equally as stunned as they were severe.

Slowly, Superman and Wonder Woman nodded. Batman just stared back, looking completely unapologetic.

"And he's been back for months?" Arthur further elaborated, narrowing his eyes further.

"Yes," Superman answered, speaking aloud.

"And you didn't bother to _tell any of us._ " He didn't outright accuse them, but then again, he didn't have to.

"He was already uncomfortable enough to speaking to me about the situation. We did not want to push him, especially since his knowledge was incomplete and hardly fresh. For him, all of this happened over thirty years ago," Batman replied.

"Then why now?" Martian Manhunter piped up, eying all three with his red gaze. "What changed?"

Diana sighed. "Two weeks ago, Superboy traveled back as well. He died eight years before Gotham Knight, and further questioning from both Knight and myself under the Lasso of Truth confirmed his identity. Then, this past Friday, during the incident with Dark Angel…Troia also woke up with memories of that future. And she died ten years _after_ Knight."

"Dear Lord…" Steel muttered, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"We went for months without a new time traveler after Knight, and then two new ones show up out of the blue within the last two weeks. It's possible that Troia will be the last, but if she isn't, then if this pattern continues we may have a new one as soon as tomorrow, a week later at the latest," Batman explained to illustrate the seriousness of the situation, "And there is no guarantee that the next one will be as… _benevolent_ as the last three. According to Knight, there is a connection between Superboy, Troia, and himself that brings up four possible candidates already, but he also admits that anyone is still possible at this point."

Alan Scott raised an eyebrow. "And did they say what connection that was?"

"A council, of sorts, for the future Justice League. Apparently the League expanded the future, enough so that it was decided a central authority was necessary to delegate tasks and handle the day-to-day running of the Justice League," Batman tapped something on his gauntlet, and a picture appeared, showing all seven symbols of the members of the original Justice League. "A Superman, a Batman, a Wonder Woman, a Green Lantern, an Aquaman, a Martian, and a Flash. According to them, it's a bit more complicated than that, but that is the general makeup. Superboy, Gotham Knight, and Troia all served on the council as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman respectively, during a period of time designated as Era 2. Specifically, on the first iteration of the council in Era 2."

Jay Garrick hummed. "You believe that the next time traveler, if there is one, will be a member of that iteration of the council then. Why?"

There was a pause as the Trinity exchanged reluctant looks. "Because of Superboy," Clark finally said, "he was the first member of that iteration to die."

A beat of silence. Looks of sympathy and horror.

"Superman, I'm sorry, I…" A hand silenced Jay.

"It's fine. You didn't know. It's…" Clark sighed again, closing his eyes for a moment. "It's been hard. They're good at hiding it, but only Knight has had time to really make peace with the situation. Superboy and Troia are still grieving."

Faces visibly softened at that. Arthur cleared his throat. "If you wish to delay the meeting, we understand."

Diana shook her head. "No. They insisted this happen as soon as possible. Whatever is coming, we need to be prepared for any and all possibilities. That means exchanging pertinent information."

Another series of uncomfortable looks were traded amongst the many heroes present. Finally, it was Wildcat that spoke. "Well then, where are they?" Ted asked in that gruff voice of his.

"In another room. They had some notes they wanted to prepare, and we still need to wait for the Titans and Young Justice to arrive. The three of them insisted they be present too."

"I assume those two teams already know of the situation?" Arthur questioned.

"Yes," Batman admitted. "They were present at their respective teammates' awakenings. We had no choice but to tell them."

* * *

"I can't believe you had an entire presentation typed up already," Kon deadpanned as he watched his friend work on his laptop and link it to the Watchtower's servers with his young brother's help. "What the hell. Why are you so hypercompetent. Why is your family so hypercompetent. Why the hell am I friends with all of you?"

"So I guess that part of him didn't change all that much over the years," Tim idly commented to his brother.

"Nope," Jason succinctly replied, before pressing one last button on the keyboard. "And… done! All linked up."

"I can't believe I'm inside the Watchtower," Cissie remarked off to the side, watching the stars in space with Secret beside her. "If my mother were here, she'd freak."

" _ **Totally!**_ " the ghost girl squealed. " _ **It**_ _ **'s so cool here!**_ "

"SososoyoutimetraveledtoolikeKonwhatwasthatlikehewon'tsay…" Bart motor mouthed to Donna, who just smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

"I might be friends with Wally, Bart, but even I have my limits," she told him good-naturedly. Bart stared up at her for a moment before shrugging and continuing to speak, running his words together in a rapid pace.

And then the door slid open.

"Hi guys!" Cassie Sandsmark cheerfully stated. "Sorry I'm late, I had this thing with my mom…" she trailed off when she realized no one was greeting her back. All of her friends were staring at her awkwardly. She wondered why, until she spotted Donna standing towards the back, a hand to her mouth and her eyes glassy. _Oh._

"C'mon, kids," Jason said, breaking the silence. "Let's give them the room."

Slowly, Jason and the members of Young Justice filed out of the room, leaving Cassie and Donna by themselves. The moment the door slid shut, allowing for privacy, Donna walked towards Cassie, her steps stilted, until they were barely even a foot away from each other. Then she crouched down and pulled the young girl into a hug.

"Oh, Cassie," Donna said tearfully, running her hand through the girl's black-colored wig.

Cassie, after a moment, tentatively hugged her back. "I'm sorry, Donna," she said, though she had really had no idea what she was apologizing for. For dying in the future? For Donna coming back in time against her will? Or for something else entirely?

Donna slowly let her go and cupped her face. "Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for. If anything, it's me that should be apologizing."

"What for?"

Her predecessor sighed, before guiding Cassie to the table where Jason and Tim had been sitting before. Donna placed her arms on the table, folding her hands together, and swallowed as she watched Cassie do the same. "How much did Kon-El tell you about your death?"

Cassie flinched, causing Donna to frown. "Forgive me, Cassie. If you do not wish to talk about it now…"

"No," Cassie gulped, inhaling a deep breath. "It's fine. He said that I died in a war, waged between the Olympians and the Titans of Myth. And that I was cremated in the Ancient Greek custom, as per my will. That's it."

Donna tapped her fingers on the table. "While that is accurate, that is not the entire truth. Not all of it. I…I was there."

The younger girl frowned. "Why wouldn't you be? I mean, wouldn't Diana have asked us both to be there?"

A sigh. "Cassie, I was already there. By the time the war happened, I had been living on Themyscira for almost seven years."

Cassie blinked. "You mean you quit being a superhero?"

"Yes," Donna admitted, with a hint of shame. "You have to understand, Cassie, that you weren't the only hero to die during that time period. Many others died before you, many of my friends. The loss of them all, combined with the loss of my son before that—"

"Your son died?" Cassie interjected, surprised and horrified.

Donna closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "A car crash, caused by Dark Angel when he was three. One that never happened in this timeline, for whatever reason. Regardless, he _did_ die, along with many others. Roy Harper, Wally West, Lilith Clay, Dick Grayson — all good friends of mine, all gone. The losses piled up, became too much and I…I couldn't take it anymore. So I left for Themyscira, and I stayed there, for what would turn out to be ten long years."

Cassie's mouth fell open, and she remained speechless. What could she ever say to that? "That's…that's a _lot_ , Donna, I'm not going to lie, and I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me this. But…what does it have to do with me?"

"…five years into my stay at Themyscira, you decided that I had stayed long enough. I'll admit, I had not intended to stay for so long, and had begun to long for the remaining friends I had left behind in Man's World. However, I feared losing those friends like I had with the others, feared facing the overwhelming grief that had threatened to consume me time and again. So I stayed among my sisters, even as my loneliness and my desire to do good still raged within me." Donna gazed fondly Cassie. "You saw that during your visits, and you tried to convince me to return to Man's World."

Cassie brightened, slightly, upon hearing that, only to falter again. "But I didn't, did I? Seeing as you stayed there for ten years."

Donna chuckled mirthlessly. "Indeed. I was resistant to all your attempts, and our relationship began to fray. And then, one year later, we had a huge argument about it. Words were said, words that couldn't be taken back, and we wouldn't speak again until the war. We found ourselves working together, tense and hurt, until…" The tears began to fall. "You died. In my arms. And it was in that moment I realized that you were right. Staying on Themyscira didn't solve anything for me. It just left me alone." She buried her eyes into her hand again, wiping away the liquid embodiment of her pain.

The younger heroine fell silent again, at a loss. "Donna," Cassie finally said, reaching over to hug her predecessor once more, "I don't know what my other self was thinking when she died. But if she was anything like me, then nothing you could have ever done would've made her hate you. If anything, she would just be glad that you started living your life again."

The former Wonder Woman unburied her face, stunned. Then she pulled Cassie into an even tighter hug. "Oh, how I've missed you Cassie," Donna murmured in ear. "Do you truly believe so?"

Cassie pulled out of the face to give her a firm look. "I know so."

Donna smiled sadly. "Thank you, Cassie."

Cassie smiled back, and then look down. "What did you do after that?"

"I stayed on the island for three more years, this time for training. I wanted to be at my very best before I left for Man's World again. And then, towards the end of that three year period, war came for the Earth again. Queen Hippolyta, my mother, died," Donna let out a shuddering breath at that painful memory, "and with her death, the Amazons were bereft of their queen."

"Diana," Cassie realized immediately.

"Yes," Donna confirmed. "With our mother dead, the throne was meant for Diana. She did not try to fight it. Like me, she had already lost several close friends and loved ones by that point, including the first Superman two years prior. With the blessing of the rest of the council, she resigned from the Justice League and retired as Wonder Woman to take her place as our queen. But, she still desired a Wonder Woman in Man's World, to spread our ideals. So, upon her coronation, she held a tournament to determine our new champion."

"You entered, it didn't you?" Cassie said, completely sure of the answer. "You entered it and you won, and you became the new Wonder Woman."

Donna ruffled her hair playfully. "I did. I defeated Diana herself in a duel for the honor. She gifted me new armor, blessed by the gods, and traded my Lasso of Persuasion for her Lasso of Truth. I returned to the World of Man as the second Wonder Woman, and learned that my friends hadn't forgotten me at all. They recognized me on sight, and greeted me heartedly. Not a single one resented me for my time away, they were just glad I had come back." Her smile turned wistful. "It was humbling to realize."

The current Wonder Girl once again lit up, glad to hear something of a happy ending in this tragic tale, until she faltered once more. The tale hadn't ended there, after all. "You died, though."

Donna grimaced. "Yes. About twenty-four years later. An alien invasion, one that had been years in the making. I managed to cut down thousands of their soldiers before they aimed at a comrade of mine — the fourth Batman, Jason's son. I took the blow for him, and died."

Cassie gasped, and began to tear up herself. "Oh, Donna…"

"It's fine, Cassie," Donna cut her off, smiling sadly at her. "If I had to die, then I could not have asked for a better way to go, dying for a man I loved as one of my own children. And while my life was full of tragedy, it was also full of happiness too. I had no regrets."

_No regrets._ Cassie wondered if she had died like that too. She hoped she did. Leaving anything unresolved felt wrong to her now. She could only assume her older self felt the same.

Donna cleared her throat, catching Cassie's attention once more. "Now that you know everything, there's something I need to tell you. I've spoken to Diana, and she agreed to come with me to visit your mother after the meeting today. It regards your future as Wonder Girl."

The teenager's eyes widened behind her goggles. "You aren't going to take the mantle away, are you?" she asked, her voice hitching in fear.

The former Wonder Woman shook her head. "No, Cassie. I couldn't stop you from being a hero even if I wanted to," she smiled lightly at that, though it quickly faded away into something foreboding, "But there are some things you need to know. Things that should have been told to you when you first decided to become a part of this life. Diana and I just need to convince your mother to tell you — and make no mistake, Cassie, this secret she's keeping wasn't kept out of malice, but out of concern. The situation has changed, however, and you're better off knowing it now than later. Just…do not hold it against her for keeping it from you."

Cassie swallowed upon hearing that and then nodded shortly. She didn't know what, exactly, what was going on but she trusted Donna and was sure that whatever her predecessor was planning, it was to protect her. The guilt and the love in Donna's eyes was all too obvious, even to someone as young as herself.

Donna brushed the hair of her wig back one last time before standing up. "Come. The Titans should have arrived by now, so the meeting should be starting soon. They're probably expecting us."

* * *

Donna and Cassie arrived to the designated venue of the meeting, the Hall of Justice (and for some reason the name had caused Donna to snort, much to Cassie's confusion) — the JLA's main chamber, where they held all their meetings. The circular table had been cleared out in favor of a smaller one with three seats facing against several rows of chairs, with another table and another three seats in front of that. It made the place resemble a conference room, which was an apt transformation — considering the number of people involved, it might as well be a conference anyway.

Already, several people were seated, including the members of the JLA and the JSA. The Titans and Young Justice were filing into their own seats, while the current Trinity were seated at the front row, behind a table of their own with some notes of their own. Bruce's doing, no doubt. Donna spotted Kon and Jason even farther away than that, standing at their own table and chairs, with Jason tapping away at his computer and setting up the presentation. Upon seeing them, she gestured Cassie to join her own team while she went to join her friends and former (current?) teammates.

She ignored the stares she was getting and instead seated herself to Kon's left. Jason, of course, was already on Kon's right. They were an almost perfect mirror from their predecessors across from them, which, of course, no one was lost on.

"How did the talk with Cassie go?" Kon whispered the moment she was seated.

"Well enough as it could have gone. Though I'm not sure she'll be so composed once she learns the secret her mother has been hiding from her," Donna admitted, careful not to hint at what that secret was. They had people with superhearing here, after all.

Eventually, everyone was seated, and the chamber settled down into an awkward silence. After a moment or two of that, Kon rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"This is worse than the annual Junior Grade meetings," Kon muttered beneath his breath. Jason and Donna, as one, subsequently elbowed him. It did nothing, of course, but it didn't stop him from glaring at them both.

Nor did it stop Batman or Superman from overhearing him. They pinned the three time-travelers with demanding stares. "What is Junior Grade?" Batman asked.

As one, all three sighed. "Of course he heard that," Jason grumbled. He then took out a remote and clicked on one of the buttons. A screen slid down from the ceiling of the chamber, the lights dimming so it could be better seen. His presentation was pulled up, and Jason quickly switched the slide that had the Justice League ranking system.

"Junior Grade is a rank assigned to new members of the Justice League upon entry. It has subranks of III, II, I, with III being the lowest and I being the highest. It is superseded by Senior Grade, which has the same subrankings. Those ranked Senior Grade I are regarded to be the most competent and trustworthy members of the Justice League and are charged with leadership positions throughout the subdivisions of the organization, along with various other privileges," Donna explained, gesturing to the information presented.

Everyone except Jason and Kon stared at her.

"That…is an oddly complicated and elaborate ranking system, for a team such as ours," Superman summed up calmly for them all. "Why was it necessary? Why did we need a ranking system?"

Jason sighed. "Because of the Expansion Initiative."

"The Expansion Initiative?" Wonder Woman echoed, her eyes sharpening at Jason.

He groaned again, began muttering under his breath, before switching back to another slide, this one titled 'The Expansion Initiative'. "The brainchild of Nightwing I, or Batman II as he was known by then." People glanced at the aforementioned Nightwing, who for once was not reveling in the attention and instead shrunk into himself in fear. Jason ignored his discomfort and continued with the exposition.

"The Expansion Intiative was an idea to connect all individual heroes and superheroes and induct them into the Justice League, pooling their resources and skills together into one, wide-spanning organization dedicated to protecting the world. Batman II wanted better cohesion and coordination among the superhero community on a consistent basis, opposed to only connecting with each other in such a fashion in large-scale emergencies, like had been the norm for the past several years. The Initiative was the result of that."

"The idea had traction," Kon admitted, "But it was also very ambitious and controversial. It took several years of undertaking to fully implement it. Even though it was Batman II spearheading it, many heroes and teams did not want to give up such a large portion of their agency, preferring to operate on their own in their own personal matters. It wasn't until Batman II's death that they fully consented to the idea, mostly in honor of his memory."

Many people flinched upon hearing that. It was hard hearing that someone they knew, someone that was here and now, breathing among them, dying in the future. Even worse was the idea of it being Nightwing. Many of the people present had known the man since he had been a boy trailing after his father in a traffic light costume. The idea of him dying, allegedly at a young age, was…disconcerting.

"But like any organization," Donna continued where Kon left off, "Expansion meant restructuring. A clearly defined chain of command, objectives, goals — not just for the standard missions and large-scale emergencies, but also for normal, everyday tasks. Hence, the ranking system. It was used to rank heroes in terms of experience and skill, so they could be assigned to appropriate posts. However, we still needed more than that. A central authority. And the most natural solution to this was a council."

Jason started switching through slides again, now settling on one titled 'The Council'. It had a list of each seat: the Super(man) seat, the Bat(man) seat, the Wonder (Woman) seat, the Lantern seat, the Aqua(man) seat, the Martian seat, and the Flash seat. "As many of you have been told already, the council was modeled after the Original Seven — the Founding Members of the original Justice League, and their successors. They were the most natural choices, in terms of diversity, experience, and legacy. Each council member would've been extensively trained by their respective hero families and with a greater amount of experience than the average superhero for the same reason, hence why few combated the idea of keeping the council within those families. There was a vetting process that each new member was required to go through, helmed by the rest of the organization, but for the most part, it was a formality."

"And all three of you served on this council for…Era 2?" Batman asked the last part, silently ordering elaboration.

The presentation flickered again to another slide. "Like we said, when the Justice League expanded, restructuring came with it. Part of that restructuring was the establishment of a historian, to document the many missions and exploits of the Justice League for posterity. Not for fame or anything of the sort, but in case any past threats or those similar and/or connected to them came to plague future members of the League. The first historian was the Mr. Terrific of this time, who continued with the role even after he retired from active duty. He passed it on to his successor upon his formal retirement from superheroism in its entirety."

"This is where the idea of Era 2 comes from," Donna added. "For better organization of our historical records. Each Era is defined by the seven members of the council at its beginning, and only ends when all seven of those members are no longer a part of the Justice League, either due to dying in the line of duty or retirement. Retroactively, we named the Original Seven the first Council of the Justice League, and thus the beginning of Era 1. Subsequently, Era 1 did not end until the very last member of that Council, you Diana, left the Justice League to succeed our mother as Queen of the Amazons. Whereupon I succeeded you, and officially began Era 2."

Kon rubbed his arm. "When Donna died, Era 2 was still ongoing, as there are two members of our council, the original iteration, still serving in the Justice League. Theoretically, that could mean anyone who served on the Era 2 council could come back. However, considering the relative youth of the new members, many of whom don't even exist yet in this time, along with the fact that I, the first member of the original council to die, was sent back, leads us to believe that the remaining four members will travel back as well, if anyone else will be traveling back at all."

"Who are they?" Batman immediately asked, mind already preparing itself to memorize the information.

The Neo-Trinity exchanged looks again. "Well, the first is Wallace R. West — your cousin, Wally," Jason started, "he succeeded you and Bart, first as Kid Flash, then as the Flash."

Wally blinked. "Wallace? But he isn't even a speedster!"

Kon cringed. "Wallace is…special. He's technically not even supposed to exist in this timeline yet."

There was a beat of silence as everyone, once again, stared at them in horror.

" _What?_ " Wally said quietly, face a deathly pale.

Jason slapped Kon on the arm. "Seriously, Kon?"

"Well we can't hide it from them forever!"

"Knock it off you two!" Donna ordered, immediately causing the boys to calm down. She then gave a gentle, comforting look to the current Flash. "That's a long story, Wally. And something that should probably be kept private with your family. If Wallace doesn't come back to tell you himself, then _I_ will tell you. I promise."

Wally clearly was not going to accept that, but a look from Batman quelled him. Bruce then glanced at the three up front and silently urged them to continue.

"The next is Megan Morse, or better known by her real name, M'gann M'orzz — Miss Martian," Jason revealed.

J'onn, startled, snapped his head up. "Martian?" His voice was tinged with hope. He had heard the implicit suggestion with the reveal of a Martian seat on the council, but hadn't dared to voice the question in his mind. Now, however…

"Yes. When the civil war started, she and her family managed to escape, and eventually settled here on Earth upon hearing of your survival. Unfortunately, they were captured by the government, and while M'gann managed to escape, her parents were executed."

Martian Manhunter looked saddened at the loss of more of his people, though he soon perked up upon learning of M'gann's survival. "So she should still be out there, right?"

"Provided the timeline hasn't changed too drastically, yes," Jason confirmed. "Whether she comes back or not, we need to find her. The government may still be hunting her down."

J'onn seemed satisfied hearing that, and sat back down. The whispers began starting again, until Kon cleared his throat. "Moving on, the next candidate is an Atlantean. A boy named Kaldur'ahm, who lives in Atlantis. He was the second Aqualad, and then the third Aquaman, succeeding you Garth, and you, King Arthur."

Arthur frowned upon hearing that. "So I assume you wish for us to seek him out?"

Kon stilled, as did Jason and Donna. "Not…necessarily," Kon finally said, voice hesitant. This was not lost on anyone.

"Superboy," Clark said warningly.

"You already know someone who knows where Kaldur'ahm is, King Arthur."

"Who?" The King of Atlantis demanded.

Hesitation. And then… "Queen Mera," Kon finally admitted.

Arthur froze. "Mera? Mera knows who this boy is?"

"Yes. It's a long story, and you're better off hearing it from her. Just know…just know that she did what she had to."

The Atlantean looked ready to demand more, by force if necessary, but glares from Superman, Batman, _and_ Wonder Woman all stayed his hand. He sat back down with a dark glower on his face.

"Right," Jason said after another awkward silence. "Last candidate. He's already here."

Everyone blinked. "He is? Who?" Diana asked.

As one, all three turned towards one direction. Following their line of sight, every eye turned towards one hero in particular. Some were shocked, some not, a fair few dismayed.

Kyle Rayner meanwhile, looked completely stunned and more than a little afraid. "Me?"

"Yes. You were the first holder of the Lantern Seat for Era 2."

"But…why?"

Donna rubbed her arm. "The Lantern Seat is…special. Technically, any Lantern can serve on the Council, usually because there are normally multiple active Lanterns on Earth at the same time. However, the _official_ holder of the seat is the most senior active Lantern. For Era 1, that was Hal Jordan. And for Era 2," she locked eyes with Kyle, "that was you, Kyle Rayner."

"So then…what does that mean?"

"It means someone is going have to watch you for signs of possible time travel," Jason bluntly told him. "Any volunteers?"

There weren't many. Kyle hadn't made many friends yet, not in this timeline. Eventually, his mentor Alan Scott had been chosen, since he was already interacting with Kyle on a regular basis. The young Lantern looked relieved to have someone familiar watching him, especially one of the few people he got along with here.

"Right. That's it for now, at least regards to the time travelers. Now for the other order of business: the training camp."

"Training camp?" Jay Garrick asked, cocking an eyebrow under his helmet.

"Honestly, this really only concerns the members of Young Justice and their mentors of the Justice League — and you members of the JSA as well," Jason explained, once again rifling through his slides until he settled onto the one titled 'The Education Initiative'. "The Expansion Initiative was what defined Era 1. This initiative, the Education Initiative, is what defined Era 2. It was our brainchild, based off the training system I created for my family. The idea was to create a full system offering training and mentoring to all JLA members and JLA-affiliated teams, both to increase the quality of heroes and to create a feeder system for the JLA's growing membership, along with further increasing the camaraderie in the superhero community."

While most of the people present didn't really know what to make of that, Jason could spot his father and brothers giving him approving nods, and hid his smile behind his mask as he continued to speak. "Like the Expansion Initiative, the idea was controversial, but the idea had enough merit and support for most to agree to a trial run. Upon its success, the system was gradually implemented over the course of the next six years. By the time I died, it was an accepted part of the Justice League's membership process and of the superhero community."

"So you wish to implement the initiative in this time, then?" J'onn asked, non-existent brows furrowing.

Donna held up her hands in a calming gesture. "Not right off the bat, of course. The system took years to implement and had an already-existing infrastructure to build off of, one that does not exist in this time yet. We, would however, liked do a miniaturized version of it — a training camp, as you would call it. And we'd like Young Justice and Stargirl to be our first students."

The attention finally turned away from the time travelers since the meeting had first started, and towards the youngest people present: the members of Young Justice. All of them looked a bit unsettled being shunted in the spotlight so suddenly. "Us?" Cissie squeaked.

"Yes, you. You're already involved with us thanks to Superboy, so naturally you are our first choices for students. Batgirl will be joining you as well if she agrees to the proposal."

Young Justice looked lost upon hearing that, and almost unconsciously veered their eyes toward the one member of their team that wasn't sitting with them. Kon smiled at them all sadly.

"You don't have to, of course," he told them. "It's your choice, along as your mentors and guardians agree with you. But…I think it's a great opportunity. We have a lot to teach you, and while we won't be going on missions very often, there's still a lot we can do that will just as much action."

The teenagers started to silently confer with each other. As they did that, attention then turned to the JSA members present. "We'll pass on ya offer to Stargirl," Wildcat told the three. "Don't know if she'll accept, though."

"That's fine," Jason replied. "Whatever her decision, just pass it on to us. If she accepts, we'll send you further instructions. If not, then we'll wish her all the best."

The senior heroes softened visibly upon hearing that. A few more minutes passed, until finally, Young Justice made their decision.

"We'll do it," Robin said, the team's unofficial spokesman. Smiles immediately burst on the face of the Neo-Trinity.

"Great. We'll have to discuss it further with your guardians and mentors, so please stay behind for now." Jason glanced at his father. "If it's alright, we'd like to adjourn the meeting. There's nothing else we'd like to talk about — nothing pressing, at least."

"Oh, wait!" Donna straightened, standing up slightly. "Before we do that, I want the Titans to know I need to meet them all in private before they leave. There's something I need to discuss with them." Judging by the grim look Dick adopted, it was obvious he had already figured out what that meeting was about.

"Is that it?" Jason asked her. Upon Donna's nod, he glanced back at the Trinity. "Very well then. Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman — do you have anymore questions?"

"None for now," Batman stated after a moment of silent conversation with his teammates. "Meeting adjourned."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to rewrite this chapter to flow better, and of course, that meant more exposition. I'm not entirely sure I'm satisfied with it, but I don't know any other way to improve it. At least you all finally know how the Justice League worked in the future. I hope you appreciate that — I've got an entire file of world building based on all this, mostly fleshed out _months_ ago, and I _finally_ get to use it.
> 
> If you have anymore questions on the system, they'll probably be answered in-story eventually. I'll probably do a full index of all of my notes at the end of the story in another part of this series on AO3 if there needs to be anymore clarification.
> 
> Next chapter: Teachers visit homes.


	11. Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassie learns the truth about her heritage.
> 
> Jason and co. smooth down some feathers.

Cassie Sandsmark winced as she heard another muffled yell through the corridor between her living room and her kitchen. Next to her, Diana placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing her protege to smile back at her gratefully. They were currently waiting for the discussion between Cassie's mother, Helena, and Donna, to finish.

After the meeting adjourned, Donna had her own private conference with the other Titans. Well, her former teammates now. It was odd, knowing that Donna was no longer a member of the team. Donna Troy had been a staple of the (Teen) Titans for as long as Cassie could remember. The idea of her not being there was almost foreign in a way. Cassie could understand why, of course, after everything Donna had unloaded upon her earlier, but still — she just couldn't wrap her head around it.

Once that was done, there had been a discussion over the training camp, with Young Justice, their mentors on the JLA, and the members of the JSA (who wanted to give as much information to Stargirl as possible to help her make her choice). Cassie didn't know how to feel about that either. While she had agreed to it like the others, mostly because the idea of having personal, uninterrupted tutelage from a former Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman fell too good an opportunity to pass up, there was a certain amount of reservation there. She knew Donna already as a mentor figure, and she barely knew Jason beyond what Tim and Kon had told her about him, so it wouldn't be hard to view him in the same light. The problem was Kon.

Things had shifted ever since Kon… well, since Kon. His entire personality had changed — while he was still laid back, he acted a lot maturely and was more content to stay in the background and just watch them during missions, obeying Robin's orders when needed. He still talked to them, of course, but he acted so different. There were moments where he took charge of the team and they found themselves following _his_ orders without second thought. He always apologized to Tim afterward, but Tim told him he didn't mind.

Tim. It was so odd, knowing Robin's real name. He had always been the one to hold back, to keep this whole 'secret identity' thing going between them. But that was gone now. Gone when Kon had inexplicably grown up almost three decades over the course of a couple of hours. It was a relief, in a way, no longer having that barrier between the team and him, but now several new ones had been erected between them and Kon in its place.

Kon was still Kon. Cassie could see that much in his eyes. But sometimes those eyes would look at her, at all of them, like they couldn't believe they were there. It was an unnerving thing to realize. So much so that when Kon was out on the errand, she had talked about it with the others. While Cissie and Greta (and that was odd too, not calling her Suzie) didn't quite get it, Tim and Bart did. And while Bart felt like her, felt uncomfortable, Tim did not. And when they asked why, he sighed and said, "Because Jason had a tendency to look at our family like that when he first got back. He still does, even now."

That had been sobering to hear.

(Cassie often wondered what it felt like for Tim, to share a best friend you now barely knew with your older brother.)

Kon was still Kon, yes, but Kon was an adult now. Whatever feelings she had for him, they were fading away. Because Kon had dated her in the last timeline, and they had broken up, remaining friends. And then Cassie died, and then Kon had gone on and gotten married and had a son—

Life had gone on, for him. He was their friend, yes, but not really. Not in the same way. And yet, she felt herself longing for it to be that way again. And she could tell the others felt that way too. Maybe that's the real reason they had agreed to this. It would be a chance to get to know this new version of their friend in a new setting.

Whatever remaining thoughts Cassie had faded away when she heard the shouting stop, the door beginning to open. After the conference over the camp had officially ended, all three of the time travelers had been asked to visit the homes of various members of Young Justice to convince their guardians to accede to what their mentors already had and let the teenagers join the camp. While Greta and Tim didn't have that problem (because Cassie wasn't an idiot — it was obvious who Batman was now), and Kon was going to be one of the teachers, Cissie, Cassie, and Bart were a different matter. Kon and Jason had decided to work on Bart together, while Donna had taken Cassie for herself, and brought Diana with her. Cissie was the lucky one, getting all three _plus_ Diana, because it was correctly predicted that her mother would be the most difficult of them all.

There was a secret that Helena Sandsmark, Cassie's mother, had been keeping and it was time that both Cassie and Diana learned it, Donna had said. Cassie wanted to deny it, the idea that her mother was keeping something from her, but upon further introspection, she had to concede it was a possibility. So she had brought Donna and Diana to her home in Gateway City. Upon their arrival, Donna had Diana use the Lasso of Truth on her to confirm the time travel story to Helena before asking to speak in private. Helena reluctantly agreed.

That was several minutes ago. It wasn't long before the yelling started, and both Cassie and Diana had lodged themselves on the couch in awkward silence while they waited for it to stop. Neither of them were aware about what was being discussed, but both had a growing suspicion it had to do with Cassie herself. The fact that they needed to have the discussion in private didn't help matters.

But now, that discussion was over. Cassie saw Helena and Donna exit the room, and then—

"Cassie," her mother breathed out, causing Cassie to unconsciously straighten her back. She loved her mom, she honestly did, but things had been slightly strained between them ever since she had accepted the offer to be the new Wonder Girl. Helena hadn't liked her putting herself in so much danger, but conceded upon Cassie's insistence and with the knowledge that she could 'ground' her daughter from superheroism with just a word. Cassie wondered if her opinion changed upon learning that she had died in the future because of it.

"Yeah, mom?"

Helena glanced at Donna, who had moved from behind her to stand next to her. The younger (older?) woman gave Cassie's mother a single nod, causing Helena to sigh once more. She moved towards her daughter, crouching down and going to one knee while taking the young girl's hands. Cassie swallowed. "Mom?"

"I wanted to wait until you were older. Or perhaps, I hoped I would never have to tell you. That you would never have to find out. But Donna…" Helena once more looked back at the other woman, who had an unmoving expression on her face. "She explained to me about some things that happened in the future. Of the futility of that. Of…of the _danger_ in that."

Cassie tightened her hands around her mother's. "What are you talking about, Mom?"

Helena closed her eyes for a brief moment. "It's about your father, Cassie."

The young hero reeled back, and it was only Diana's steadying hand that stopped her from falling over completely. "Dad? But you _never_ talk about him."

"And for good reason," Helena told her, before sighing once again. "When I was a young woman, I met a man during one of my digs. He was kind, charming. I…I fell in love with him, and soon enough I was pregnant with you. He had disappeared by then, but when you were born he came back for a little bit, to explain who he was. And once I learned, I resolved myself to make sure you would never learn the truth, and forced him to promise the same."

"Who was he?" Cassie asked, and there was a growing pit in her stomach.

Helena bit her lip. "His name…was Zeus."

There was a moment of silence as both Cassie and Diana both processed that statement in growing disbelief.

"Mom, you don't mean…" Cassie trailed off.

"Helena…" Diana inhaled, equally surprised.

"Yes, Diana, Cassie. Zeus."

Cassie let go of her mother's hands and flopped back into the couch, eyes wide. She put a hand to her forehead. "Then that means…"

"You're a demigoddess, Cassie," Donna confirmed, finally speaking up.

Diana looked at her sister. "How did we find out in the previous timeline?"

Donna shrugged. "Helena told you some time after you started mentoring Cassie and made you promise to keep it a secret. After Cassie's identity as Wonder Girl was exposed, he tried to contact her through a human disguise. By the time she found out the truth, Cassie had suspected for some time that he was her father. It explained why Zeus had granted her those powers — in reality, he had simply loosened the seal on her divinity. After something caused him to reapply the seal, she sought new empowerment through a deal with Ares. Upon that deal falling through, he released the seal entirely and gave her access to her full abilities."

"So she would've gained access to these abilities eventually? Why now then, Donna? Why not wait until she was older?"

"Isn't it obvious, Diana? Something is coming," Donna said, face growing dark. "Something big. My being here is proof enough of that. If not for that, I would wait, but as it is, Cassie will be in danger no matter what happens. She is not only just a daughter of Zeus, but a superhero with her own team. It's best she knows now, so she can prepare for what is to come."

Cassie looked down at her hands. "Then my powers…"

"Are just a fraction of what you are truly capable of," Donna continued for her, stepping forward. "After today, I plan to beseech Zeus to grant me — and you as well, Diana — permission to gradually undo the seal. I am confident I will be able to convince him, as I've had my own fair share of deals with him in the future. With that, as you increase in skill and maturity, Cassie, we will grant you more of your power. When we are fully satisfied with your training, you will have access to all of it."

Her successor stared up at her. Donna gently placed a hand on Helena's shoulder, causing the other woman to stand up. With that, the former Wonder Woman replaced her position, and brushed a stray lock of blonde hair away. "I am sorry, Cassie. I know this is a lot to take in so quickly. But we do not have the luxury of time anymore, nor the luxury of ignorance. Know that I'm only doing this because I wish to protect you. But, alas, if there is any unfortunate lesson I have learned over the many decades of my life, it is that the best way to protect you is to teach you how to protect yourself."

Cassie sniffed and nodded gingerly. "What now?"

"Now, we train," Donna glanced at her older sister, and then at Helena. "Your mother has agreed to let you join the camp. Once we have everything settled, I will retrieve you myself and guide you to your new base, where you will learn with the others. Work hard, Cassie. Your life, and the lives of many others will depend on it."

The teenager nodded. Donna smiled, and stood back up. "That's enough for today. I imagine you have much to talk with your mother about, so Diana and I will depart for now, if that is fine with you."

* * *

"And now, for the hard one," Kon announced as Jason, Cissie, and him teleported in front of the Jones home. Thankfully, it was late out, so no one was present to see them.

Jason hummed. "I don't know, Max Mercury took a _lot_ of convincing."

"Stage mom."

"…oh. _Oh._ "

"I take it you've had to deal with parents like Mom before?" Cissie asked, glancing between the two boys.

Kon pinched his nose. His poor, abused nose. "Unfortunately, Cissie, parents like your mother aren't as unique as any one of us would wish them to be."

"Not even for superheroes," Jason commented, rubbing his chin. "In fact, I think even more of those types showed up after the JL started the training system. They were a pain to deal with and we often had to get child services involved, usually because those kids very rarely actually _want_ to be superheroes." He gave Cissie a pointed look as he said this.

Cissie didn't miss it, nor the accompanying look Kon shot her as well. She sighed. "Is it that obvious?"

Kon shrugged. "Not when it first happened, but we've been teaching kids like you for years now Cissie. We know the signs."

"If you don't want to do this — _any_ of this — then you don't have to, Cissie," Jason added. "You originally quit after an incident with your therapist and her ex-boyfriend, and had a fulfilling life as a competition archer and then as a teacher after you grew up. That incident hasn't happened in this timeline, and never will, but if you still don't wish to be a hero, then we won't stop you from making that choice. We'll just ask that you explain your decision to your friends before you go."

Cissie rubbed her arm and glanced at the door of her house nervously. "I do want to stop," she finally admitted, "But…not yet. Like you said, there's something big coming, and my friends will be in the middle of it. And I…I can't step away. Not until I'm sure they'll be fine without me."

Kon placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Alright then. All that's left is convincing your mother to let us train you." He thought that over for a moment, before shrugging again. "It'll be a pain, but not too difficult."

"How so?"

The three heroes looked up to see Donna and Diana descending from the sky, having evidently finished with their visit to Cassie's. They had been waiting for the Amazons, because unlike the other guardians, they had no intention of telling Bonnie Jones the truth about the time travel. Max Mercury and Helena Sandsmark were both trustworthy, with the former being a superhero in his own right and the latter's obvious desire to keep her daughter safe in-line with her own common sense. Bonnie Jones, however, was a Grade-A narcissist who, despite her own care for her daughter, was desperate for attention even if it meant living it vicariously through her own child. Who knows what she would do with that kind of information?

With Diana and to a lesser extent, Donna, here, they could just use their authority and credentials to help convince Bonnie this was the best choice without getting into the whole time travel aspect. They would just have to shuffle around some of the facts, and be very exact in their wording. Which was Jason was here, because that was what he was best at. Lying without actually lying, which was great when you were standing in the same room with the embodiment of truth.

Speaking of said embodiment of truth, it was Diana who had asked the question. It was Jason who answered, and with something of a devious smirk. "Because, Diana, when it comes to stage parents, all they want is attention. And once you realize that, their buttons are _very_ easy to push."

* * *

"No, absolutely not!"

"Mom—!"

"Where's the money, the marketing, the _brand_?" Bonnie demanded over her daughter's pleas. "What's the point of all this if my girl isn't going to get some recognition from it? She'll just be holed up in the middle of nowhere, learning how to shoot an arrow straighter than she already does. You're calling this an opportunity of a lifetime, but all I see is another way of giving my daughter the shaft."

_You mean giving_ you _the shaft,_ was the collective thought of all the adults present, physically or otherwise. Jason, Donna and Kon exchanged looks as they watched Bonnie continue to rant at Diana while Cissie tried to rein her in. One had to admit, for all her griminess, Bonnie Jones certainly wasn't a coward.

"Mrs. Jones," Jason finally said, trying to cut through the rant. When she failed to pay attention to him, he sighed deeply, before inhaling a deep breath. "Mrs. Jones!" he shouted this time.

"What!" The woman shrieked, whirling around to face Jason with fire in her eyes. Cissie flinched, while Diana frowned. Jason, Donna, and Kon, however, had no reaction. This was hardly the first time they had to deal with someone like Bonnie Jones.

"If your daughter joins the camp, she'll be in constant contact with the likes of my father, Batman," Jason explained, careful to keep his tone subdued and not _too_ persuasive. He was going for silver-tongued, not used car salesman. "Not just him, but also Superman and Wonder Woman here. Their word carries a lot of weight, and they've given their stamp of approval on this camp."

" _And?_ " the woman hedged.

Jason shrugged, eyes half-lidded behind his domino mask. "Why, they may get to know Cissie better. They may even come to _like_ Cissie. And when Cissie is older and more mature, that may see her being entrusted with bigger, more important assignments and missions in the future. Ones with more visibility than she's used to. And perhaps even see her joining the flashier teams, like the Titans, or maybe even the Justice League."

Bonnie's angry expression gradually faded with every word that spilled from Jason's lips, replaced with a much more ecstatic one. A person could literally see the stars and dollar signs in her eyes.

"This is an opportunity, Mrs. Jones, for your daughter to move on to bigger and better things in the future," Jason's voice was svelte. "You don't want her to be like those former child stars, who burnout before they even turn thirty, do you? No, you want her to have a long and fruitful career as a superhero, to be talked in the same breath as the Trinity, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter. The greatest heroes of the age. Think of this as the first step towards that." Of course, just because Cissie was taking the first step down that road didn't mean she had to walk all the way, but Bonnie didn't need to know that.

_Got her_ , Jason thought, as he watched Bonnie give her consent to the slightly astonished Diana. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Cissie looking at him in disbelief, and gave her a playful wink. She flushed, and smiled at him gratefully.

* * *

With all of Young Justice confirmed and Cass also consenting to joining the camp, all that was left was to wait and see if Courtney and her family accepted the invitation or not. The JSA had been told that Courtney was allowed to know the time travel secret as well, along with her stepfather Pat Dugan, but no one else. While the information would spread eventually, they still wanted to keep it contained to as small a circle as possible until they figured out what, exactly, was going on.

Surprisingly, they didn't have to wait long. It had only been a day or so before Batman returned from patrol to inform them that Courtney had accepted their invitation to join the camp. With that confirmation, that meant they could start planning it all out in earnest. Upon dropping off Jon back at the Kent Farm, Kon told Martha and Jonathan that he'd be staying over at Wayne Manor for the next week or so for 'hero work' and that he'd return later, only staying long enough for a meal and to pack up more of his belongings.

After that, they got to work. They spent the first day visiting the resort and deciding what they wanted to fix up and what they wanted to tear down, surveying the surrounding land for potential training areas. After writing down some notes and drawing up some blue prints, they had them sent to Bruce so he could procure the materials and have them delivered — discreetly — to Catskills. With some help from Wally West, they had managed to transform the base entirely into a top-rate training facility within a couple of days.

Now that they had a concrete idea of what they had available, the next piece of work had been the curriculum. That was much easier to deal with, since they had years of lessons to draw on. Group lessons weren't going to be an issue. No, the real issue was the more individualized training. Jason could handle the likes of Robin, Batgirl, and Arrowette. Donna had already declared Wonder Girl hers and it was decided she would be the best suited to Stargirl. That left two remaining members — Secret and Impulse, that were saddled with Kon. Unlike everyone else, that was hardly ideal.

While Kon could help Impulse with controlling his super speed, he had to acknowledge that Bart would need to learn the secrets of the Speed Force from Max Mercury, like he had been doing ever since moving in with the older man. Secret however, was an entirely different manner. Her powers were unique, and expansive, and while on paper Kon might seem like the best choice considering his own varied power set, they were several distinct and fundamental differences between them. All three heroes agreed that M'gann would've been the perfect mentor for Secret instead, but they had no idea where M'gann was or if she was even coming back. So, it would fall to Kon instead.

Speaking of the other members of their team, there was still no word about what was going on with them, exactly. The Flashes were keeping a close eye on Wallace, and neither him nor Kyle were showing any signs of remembering a future life. J'onn was searching for M'gann, but it was slow-going. And as for Arthur, well, Mera was still refusing to speak with him, and that meant there was no locating Kaldur'ahm either. Hopefully, if someone did come back, it wasn't one of the latter two.

Eventually, the three of them pushed those thoughts aside. All they could do was wait, so they waited and worked. And eventually, the following Saturday arrived. Almost week since Donna's arrival and the big meeting, the training camp began.

It would prove to be quite the memorable occasion.

* * *

When Courtney Whitmore first arrived to the newly renovated, yet isolated mountain hotel in the Catskill Mountains that was now serving as Young Justice's new base, she didn't know what to expect. Honestly, this was not how she expected her weekend to go at all. When she had found that belt in her stepfather's closet over a year ago, Courtney could have never predicted the wild ride her life had been since.

Now, a year later, she was Stargirl, the newest user of the Cosmic Staff of the famed Knight family. A member of the legendary Justice Society of America. And now, the newest student of a time-displaced Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Her mind had gone into a tailspin when Jay and the others explained _that_ to her, and then their offer to train her. She honestly didn't know what she was thinking when she accepted the offer, except, _Hello! You get to learn from the Trinity! You can_ _'t pass this up!_

Okay, it wasn't _really_ the Trinity. Or, at least not the Trinity of this time. But it was still _a_ Trinity, and that was more than enough for Courtney. She had heard of Donna Troy, of course, she was one of the original Titans, and Superboy was fairly well-known, but Gotham Knight was every bit as mysterious as his mentor. Even so, Batman trusted him, as did Superman and Wonder Woman, and apparently that had been enough for Courtney's JSA mentors to forgo any doubt they had about all of this. They made the offer, Courtney and her parents weighed the pros and cons, and Courtney accepted.

And now here she was. In the Catskills. Staring at the newly renovated resort-base that was now Young Justice's new home.

…how was this her life again? Oh right, she found a belt, put it on, and basically blackmailed her stepdad into making her a superhero. That's how.

As if sensing her thoughts, the newly rebuilt gates to the building swung open, giving her implicit permission to enter. Courtney took in a deep breath, staff in hand and bag on her shoulder (she had been instructed to bring both civilian and normal workout clothing along with a spare super suit or two), before stepping inside, observing her surroundings. The lawn had been neatly manicured, but that was offset by the equipment she saw at every corner. Targets, training dummies, _weapons_ — it seemed they hadn't held back at all in rebuilding the place to fit their needs. The former parking lot had even been converted into a hangar of sorts, where she could see Young Justice's Super-Cycle in the slight opening of the door.

The building itself had been restored to its former glory, newly painted and its windows replaced, though she could see it had also had a number of extra armaments built into it in case of an attack. Courtney knocked on the big oak doors and waited, until she heard the sound of footsteps. A twist of the knob and the slightest creak of the door, before it swung open to reveal Donna, dressed in her civvies. She smiled warmly at Courtney.

"Stargirl," she greeted the younger woman, "welcome. Come in, come in. Everyone else is already here. We've all been waiting for you."

_Great. Last one here. Yippee_. Courtney nervously walked through the doors, glancing around at the interior. Much like the exterior, it had been restored throughly, with fresh furniture and even a hanging chandelier above. There was a reception desk as well, with a functioning computer, giving off appearance of an actual hotel. Considering that there was talks about adding more kid heroes to the program if the camp proved successful, she had a feeling that retaining that particular feature of the building was intentional.

Donna handed her a key and gave her some directions to her room, which was in the girls' wing. She was instructed to change into her civilian clothing first for the introductions and icebreakers, and that later they would do some basic sparring in their actual suits to get a feel of each student and their current skill level. Courtney tangentially realized that meant she would be exposing her civilian identity to everyone else at the camp. Then again, considering there were like three Bats present, there was a good chance they already knew it anyway.

She went upstairs to her room, and when she opened the door to see in the inside, she couldn't help but stare a little. Even the her room looked like a hotel room, straight out of Expedia. Granted, she doubted this place had room service or housekeeping (keeping a civilian staff on hand was just asking for their secret identities to get exposed), but it was still too much. Courtney had heard rumors that Batman was insanely rich, and if that was the case, then all this certainly proved it.

Whatever. She was wasting time. She walked inside, set her staff against the wall, and quickly changed into a t-shirt, some jeans, and sneakers. After a quick look in the full-length mirror to make sure she looked presentable, Courtney grabbed her key and walked out, closing the door behind her and locking it. Donna had pointed out the conference room where everyone would be, and Courtney wracked up her brain to remember the way even as she began unconsciously walking down the steps towards her destination.

She took in another breath upon arriving, and stepped inside.

What she found wasn't exactly what she was expecting.

* * *

"Why did you bring Damian along again?" Tim asked in exasperation as he watched his little brother chase a laughing Jon Kent in the midst of a circle of chairs, where various teenage superheroes were seated (or, in the case of Secret, floating). The various members of Young Justice were all cheering one or the other on, or just watching in amusement.

"It's Alfred's day off and Stephanie refused to babysit because she wanted to come here with you," Jason answered blandly, jerking his thumb towards Tim's cheering girlfriend. "If you want to blame anyone, blame her."

"I'm not going to blame her, she's my girlfriend. So I'm going to blame you instead."

"And that's why you're going to be sparring with me later instead of with one of your teammates."

"Wow. Abusing your status as a teacher already. You're terrible."

"Indeed I am. But you knew that already."

Donna shook her head as she watched Jason and Tim continue to snark at each other. "What a familiar sight," she said wistfully, before perking up when she spotted Courtney. "Courtney! Come in, come in! We're about to start." She glanced at Kon, who nodded.

The Kryptonian hybrid used his telekinesis to freeze the running boys and move them back to their respective chairs. Damian opened his mouth to shout at him, but a look from Jason stopped him. Instead, he crossed his arms and pouted, while Jon grinned and slung his arm around his shoulders. Next to them, Stephanie giggled and snapped a picture with her phone. _Hello, blackmail!_

Realizing the show was over, the various members of Young Justice clambered into their own seats. Courtney looked around until she spotted an empty one between an Asian girl with black hair and a jittery brunette boy. The latter was obviously Impulse — his hair and energy was a dead give-away — but she had no idea who the girl was. She didn't match any of the profiles of Young Justice and she obviously wasn't Donna Troy. The new Batgirl, perhaps? According to Jay, it was suggested that she might be joining the camp too.

Once everyone was seated and quiet, Donna stood up and greeted them with a smile. She went a spiel about what the training camp was about, what kind of activities, protocols, rules — an orientation, more-or-less. Not dissimilar from any first day at an educational institution. After she was done, she instructed them to introduce themselves, including both their superhero and civilian identities and their powers and skill set.

If it weren't for the whole superhero aspect, Courtney would call it mundane. Was this how they were really going to start this off? Then again, it _was_ the first day. The first days were always the calmest, with the least amount of workload. And Donna did say they would be sparring later, so it wouldn't be _that_ boring. Tomorrow was certain to be more exciting, she was sure of it.

The introductions continued. Courtney confirmed the girl was the new Batgirl — specifically, she was Cassandra "Cass" Cain-Wayne, the adopted daughter of Bruce Wayne. She was the adoptive sister of who Courtney recognized to be Tim Drake-Wayne, who introduced himself as the current Robin. And there was Jason Todd-Wayne, who Courtney shamelessly admitted to having a massive crush on after that video of him singing went viral on YouTube. He was Gotham Knight. And considering Dick Grayson was the ex-fiance of Starfire, and currently lived in Bludhaven, it wasn't much of a jump to figure out who Nightwing was. Even that kid, Damian, looked familiar — he was probably Damian Wayne.

Courtney wasn't stupid. It was blatantly obvious who Batman was now.

_I guess this is why they didn_ _'t want any of our guardians here._ Batman was notoriously secretive. It was probably taking a lot out of him to let his children expose their secret identities like this, and by extension, expose his own. He must have had a lot of faith in the people here. _Or is scared enough about whatever is coming to risk it._

That was the underlying current going on in the superhero world. While not everyone was at the meeting last week, nor aware of what was discussed there, heroes were people and people talked. Almost everyone was tangentially aware that _something_ was coming. Something big. And that whatever it was, it had the entire Justice League on edge. Hence, the camp — not only would the younger heroes hopefully be out of the way when the time came, but they would be getting vital training in case they would have take the field themselves.

Courtney cut off any further thoughts and perked up as she became the center of attention. It was her turn. She plastered on her best smile and stood up. "Hello, everyone. My name is Courtney Whitmore and my superhero identity is Stargirl. For skills, I am a trained gymnast and kickboxer. While I don't have any actual powers myself, my staff and belt do. My belt, the Cosmic Conveyor Belt, converts cosmic energy, or starlight, into a force that enhances all of my physical abilities. My staff, the Cosmic Staff, has a number of abilities, but it's primary ones include gravity manipulation and energy projection."

There was a chorus of greetings, and then Donna stood up again. "Right then — now for us, your teachers. My name is Donna Troy, and my current superhero identity is Troia. Formerly, I was Wonder Girl, and in the previous timeline, I became Wonder Woman. As an Amazon, I've been divinely empowered by the gods and have had extensive training in all forms of combat. I will be in charge of your physical training — both conditioning and combat."

She sat back down and glanced at Jason, who sighed and stood up, rubbing his arm. "My name is Jason Todd-Wayne, and my current superhero identity is Gotham Knight. I was the second Robin, and eventually I became Batman. I have no powers, but like Donna I've been extensively trained in all forms of combat, and educated in a number of disciplines, including investigative work. I will be in charge of teaching you strategy and tactics, along with helping Donna in physical training."

After Jason was seated, Kon was next. "My name is Conner Kent, or Kon-El. You can just call me Kon. My current superhero identity is Superboy, and in the last timeline, I became Superman. My powers include telekinesis, as you've seen with the kids," he jabbed his thumb towards Damian and Jon, "and eventually, I will develop a Kryptonian power set."

"Speaking of the kids, and the young woman sitting beside Tim, I'd like to introduce you to my cousin Jon Kent, his best friend and Jason, Tim, and Cass' little brother Damian Wayne, and their close family friend, Stephanie Brown. They'll be staying with us for this weekend and possibly many more, and helping us with your training — including my area of expertise, empathy."

There was a collective blink. "Empathy?" Tim asked, sounding very skeptical.

Kon smiled at them all beatifically. "You'll understand when you have my class. As for now, however, introductions are over. Go upstairs and change into your costumes — it's time for sparring."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you liked that. The camp is supposed to feel mundane, as Donna, Jason, and Kon don't believe in Training From Hell for kids that young. There is a…harsher version of their teaching, but we won't get into that now. You'll see.
> 
> Next chapter: the actual camp.


	12. Training Camp Camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The training camp continues — until it doesn’t.

"Well, that wasn't a _complete_ disaster," Donna said brightly, sipping her coffee with a smile.

Jason, who had an icepack to his head, and Kon, who was currently washing some mud out of his hair with a wet towel, gave her flat looks.

"Oh, come on! At least it wasn't as bad as the incident with the flying monkey and vegetable soup!"

There was a collective shudder. "So many apricots…" Kon muttered, eyes haunted.

"Freaking Captain Atom had a riot with that one when we called him over to deal with the radiation," Jason grumbled, shifting the pack on his head.

Donna's smile widened. "See! It wasn't completely terrible! Nobody died or suffered permanent injury, and we got a general idea of where everyone's skill level is!"

Jason sighed. "It's sad how low the bar is."

"We're superheroes, dear. The bar is _always_ that low."

* * *

The various occupants of the hotel, once again dressed in their civilian garb, gathered in the communal dining room, where a long dining table with enough seats to fit all of them was situated. Each of the teenagers looked awkward, the recent sparring sessions still fresh in their minds and making them somewhat nervous. Hopefully, their… _wildness_ wouldn't affect their teachers' treatment of them from here on out. Kon did look mighty angry being dumped in a mud pool like that…

A _swish_ of the door answered that, where a cart with various foods was wheeled in, enough to feed everyone present, including a growing, hyperactive speedster. Plates were passed around, along with utensils, before the dishes were set down. However, before anyone could even think about taking a bite of the food, Jason cleared his throat.

"I just want you to know that this will be one of the few meals cooked for you. Starting tomorrow, you will be cooking your own meals from here on out."

"WHAT!" came the cry of all the teenagers.

Except for three. "So business as usual?" Tim asked, looking positively resigned. Next to him, Cass and Stephanie were piling food onto their plates while everyone else was distracted.

"It's part of the experience," Donna explained in that soothing, understanding voice of hers. "While teamwork is an important part of being a hero, so is self-sufficiency. How can others rely on you if you cannot rely on yourself? Hence, cooking."

"Don't worry," Kon told them all, smirking, "we won't leave you flailing around and burning food as you try to figure things out. Not for the first couple of weeks, at least. Jason here will instruct you, and once he's satisfied with all your skill levels, _then_ we'll leave you to fend for yourselves."

"Just for the record, if you wreck the kitchen too badly, I won't be held responsible for my actions," Jason warned them.

"He really won't," Tim added in exasperation, Cass nodding next to him.

* * *

Dinner went off with a hitch. And then the following morning, came breakfast — the first meal that they would be making together. Jason had chosen a simple and classic recipe to start off with, pancakes, and walked those who didn't already have a vague idea of how to cook through making them. He also introduced them to the basics of batch cooking, which was a necessary skill when one of their fellow teammates was a speedster.

After breakfast was finished, they were given another hour to freshen up, and then their first lesson would begin outside. There was an excitement in the air as the children stepped outside, dressed in their super suits. Waiting for them was their teachers, also dressed in their own suits, along with the three guests.

Donna took the students aside and walked them through a basic physical conditioning workout for the first hour, while Jason and Kon took the three to the side to work on something else for the next exercise. Of course, Secret was the only one who couldn't participate in this particular aspect of the camp, so Donna had her practicing various facets of her powers instead. As for the others, however, they were either given bracers to suppress their powers and banned from using any weapons or gadgets, and then instructed to do various basic stretches and drills, such as push-ups and crunches.

Once they were done, they were instructed to keep the bracers on while Donna led them to another part of the complex, where an obstacle course had been set-up. Each of them were instructed to run through the course, _without_ their powers, weapons, or gadgets, and to rescue a 'hostage' at the very end. They were then supposed to guide said 'hostage' back to the start line through the obstacle course as well. Seemed simple enough.

Until Tim, the first person who volunteered, managed to 'rescue' a 'hostage' — in this case, Jon Kent. The moment Tim tried to touch him, the boy started shrieking and scrambling, shying away from his rescuer. Tim was shocked, and struggled to calm the boy down. Back at the start of the obstacle course, his fellow teen heroes were also frozen in disbelief.

Cassie turned around to see her teachers, who were all looking sufficiently amused. "What's going on?"

Kon smirked at her. " _My_ part of the exercise."

Tim continued to try and calm Jon down until a moment of clarity hit. He said something to Jon, hands held out in a calming, non-threatening gesture, and the boy's fit gradually diminished. Then, slowly, he reached his arms out, allowing Tim to pick him up and then carry him through the obstacle course. Tim was much slower this time around, especially when it seemed Jon my start to cry again. When he finally got to the end, he set Jon to the ground, who suddenly perked up and started being his cheerful self again. He ran towards Kon, who ruffled his hair and produced a candy out of nowhere, which he handedly gave to the younger boy.

"What was that?" Tim asked, expression distinctly confused and a bit haggard.

Kon straightened up, smiling not just at Tim but at the rest of the students. "What I'll be teaching you: empathy."

The confusion persisted. Kon sighed. "Empathy, as I told Superman and the others when we first proposed this camp to them, is a skill as much as it is a quality. This is one aspect of it — comforting the panicking civilians you're trying to rescue."

He gently guided Jon to his side as he stepped forward to face the group fully, with Jason and Donna watching the entire confrontation dutifully behind him. "You are heroes. Your primary job, above all others, is to save lives. This much is true. However, as a consequence of that, you also need to know the value of the lives you're trying to save."

A hand was placed on Jon's shoulder. "Jon here was instructed to act as a normal child would in a hostage situation — terrified, distressed, wary of strangers. Saving him in his current state would be difficult for anyone, even for the likes of Superman. However, just because he was being difficult did not mean you shouldn't save him. As I said, in the end he's just a scared child in a stressful and dangerous situation. He wasn't intentionally trying to make your job harder, he was just reacting as anyone would when held hostage."

"Throughout your career as a superhero, no matter how long it may be, you will face similar situations like this, where the civilians you're trying to save are difficult and unwilling to listen to you to avoid danger. Sometimes, you're not going have time and will have to drag them away to safety. Most of the time, however, you _will_ need to calm them down and get them to cooperate for their own good, and quite possibly your own. This exercise is to help you learn that skill — like Jon, Damian and Stephanie have also been instructed to act like this when you save them, and it will be _your_ job to soothe them to the point that they'll be willing to allow you to rescue them."

Kon swept his gaze over the group one last time. "I'm sure many of you have already been instructed by your mentors in this to at least some extent. Think of this as a refresher for now, because we will be doing more complex situations involving not just this scenario, but many more. This is the kind of skill you will be learning under me. We thought it fitting to start off with an exercise like this, considering your confusion over what my are of expertise was. I hoped this explained it adequately enough."

Slowly, the surrounding children nodded. Their enthusiasm had not abated, but was now rather subdued. They turned back to the obstacle course, and the exercise continued on.

* * *

After that exercise was finished, it was time for lunch. Everyone changed out of their uniforms and back into civilian clothing, where Jason once again walked them through cooking the meal for the day — a curry. Five large pots were used for this one, and he kept a close eyes as he watched the children mixed the curry powder and added ingredients. After making sure the food wasn't _too_ spicy, he deemed it ready and taken off the stove to be served to the group.

Once lunch was finished, the teenagers another hour for break before changing back into their gear and walking outside for the next exercise. After the shock of the previous one, they were a lot more wary about what they would be doing. They new, tangentially, that the camp would be serious (it was a camp for _superheroes_ , after all), but they didn't expect something so… _poignant_ for their first major exercise. It made them wonder what else they would be made to do.

They had the bracers put on them again, suppressing their powers. Donna led them through another workout, though this one was shorter and less strenuous than the last one. And finally, they were lined up and facing their teachers. This time, it was Jason who took point, and Tim and Cass tried not to wince. They knew full well how their brother could be when teaching.

"This next exercise is a rather simple one: capture the flag. You will all be playing on one team, and the three of us will be playing on the other. Stephanie, with Jon and Damian assisting her, will be the referee."

Rather than cheer, the students looked apprehensive. "What's the catch?" Courtney asked, suspicious.

Jason grinned beneath his mask. "We get to use our powers, you don't."

Almost immediately, the children were stricken with horror. "How is that fair?" Bart demanded, biting one of his nails.

"Don't worry, there are restrictions — I'm not allowed to use my utility belt, just my weapons. Neither Donna nor Kon are allowed to fly, and Kon isn't allowed to use his super-senses or his telekinesis on _any_ of you, just on the surrounding area." Jason shrugged. "If we went all out, you wouldn't stand a chance."

"What he has yet to mention is that you won't have to guard a flag," Donna interjected, "instead, you'll be trying to capture our flag and bring it over to your side, and the exercise won't end until you do. There's also no jail feature in the game for that same reason."

Cassie scowled. "What's the point of this? How come we don't get to use our powers?"

Jason crossed his arms. "What do you think is the point of everything you've been doing this weekend?" he asked instead of answering Cassie's question.

There was an exchange of looks. Finally, it was Tim who answered back. "To test us?" Though it was more of a question than an answer.

His older brother shrugged. "Close enough. Before this camp started, we compiled profiles on each of you, extrapolating data from public videos, interviews, and our own personal interactions with you, and built a curriculum according to that. However, we still needed to see, in person, what you were capable of. The purpose of the spars yesterday were to see your full physical abilities, so Donna can determine what she wants to work on with each of you. The purpose of the hostage simulation this morning was for Kon to gauge how much empathy you had, how much you understood and appreciated the lives you were trying to save."

"The purpose of _this_ exercise is to test your mind." The teenagers shivered; they could just _feel_ Jason's smirk. "I'm not going to lie to anyone here. You're not going to outfight us, you're not going to outrun us, and you're _definitely_ not going to outpower us. However, you _might_ be able to outhink us, and that's what you're gonna have to do if you want to get the flag and go home today. I want to see how flexible you all can be, how well you can work together and coordinate for something like this. Because trust me — this will be the least difficult exercise I will be giving you for this entire camp."

It wasn't a promise, or anything like that. It was just a fact, aided by how casually and nonchalantly Jason spoke those words. Considering how arduous the upcoming task would be, the young heroes didn't want to know what else their teachers had in store for them.

With that final word said, everyone went to a nearby field where things were already set-up. One side, back towards the forest, would be the teacher's side, where a flag with a red banner was neatly set up at the very back. The other side had the students. There was also a box with some seats on it, where Stephanie and the boys were to sit.

The game started, but no action was taken. Instead, the students huddled together towards the back of the field, as far away from earshot as possible, before trying to come up with a game plan. Meanwhile, Jason arranged his team so Kon was guarding the flag directly while Donna and him played the first line of defense. And then, they just waited for their students to make the first move.

After a few minutes, that's what the kids did. It seemed Tim had been elected the leader for this plan, and he arranged things so Cass was directly facing against Jason while Cassie, Cissie, and Courtney were facing Donna. Then, with a signal he had them pounce. Cass immediately engaged Jason while the girls did the same with Donna. Meanwhile, they were distracted, Tim and Bart immediately headed for Kon.

Kon cocked an eyebrow at the headfirst charge, before holding out a hand and making a symbol with it. Almost immediately the ground beneath the boys shifted before bursting upwards — not too much to cause injury, but enough to send them on their backs. He then turned around to see Secret trying to reach for the flag, and used his other hand, lifting it away from her before she could touch it. Then, it suddenly began to spin, creating a makeshift fan that blew the ghost girl away, all the way back to the other side of the field.

Over at Donna, the girls had tried to use a cat-and-mouse tactic, trying to distract her from reaching one and trying to constantly shift her attention. It worked, until Donna decided it was time for enough games and slammed her fists onto the ground, creating a fissure and enough force to send all three girls flying away as well. She then went over and grabbed the heels of Tim and Bart, tossing back over the line.

Jason, meanwhile, was going toe-to-toe with Cass. Owing to her body-reading ability, she was matching him blow-for-blow, but the sheer experience gulf meant Jason was able to keep up with her. Until, eventually, she found herself grabbed from behind by Donna and tossed away as well. Jason hefted one of his sticks onto his shoulder and tilted his head as he watched the groaning and recovering teenagers.

"You're going to have to do _much_ better than that," he proclaimed.

* * *

For the next two hours, similar instances occurred. No matter how many different plans the kids (or more specifically, Tim) implemented, they were instantly countered. It was only remembering the exact words Jason said (no _powers_ , nothing about weapons) that they were able to finally make headway.

Finally, two and a half hours after the start of the exercise, the children finally managed to grab the flag and bring it over to their side. During that final play, Cassie managed to snatch the Lasso of Persuasion from Donna's hip and used it to tie up her predecessor — while her will wasn't as strong as Donna's, the lasso itself was virtually indestructible and so Donna hadn't managed to break out of its bonds once it had been wrapped throughly around her, even with her super strength.

With her out of play, the children managed to gang up on Jason and tie him up with rope Cass had on her, being careful to disarm him beforehand. That left Kon, who was by far the most difficult to deal with. He had created an entire telekinetic barrier around himself and the flag, and there was no way for them to break into it. The only way to get rid of it is for Kon himself to take it down, and they could only do that by breaking his concentration. Of course, as an experienced superhero Kon was immune to almost all their attempts. It wasn't until Tim used a flashbang from his utility belt that the barrier dropped, allowing Cass to dart in and grab the flag before he could put it back up, and making a direct beeline for their side of the field.

As the children collapsed to their backs, exhausted, Kon untied Jason and Donna and the three went to face their students with smiles on their faces. "Well done," Jason praised them, "You managed it before the three hour-mark. That's better than most of our other beginning students did back in the previous timeline."

There were happy expressions upon hearing that. There was some discussion over some of the tactics they used, along with some critique, and then the children were allowed to take their bracers off. With that final exercise done, it was time to go home.

* * *

"That was…something," Cissie commented as she slung her bag over her shoulder. The students had been allowed to shower and clean up before leaving. All of them were still dressed in their super-suits however, as they would be using more esoteric forms of transportation, such as the Super-Cycle or flight, to head to their respective homes.

"I thought we were going to have fun," Bart complained. "And I guess we did, but it was…hard. A hard kind of fun."

Courtney rubbed her arm. "I, for one, am glad we're only doing this on weekends. I don't think I could handle doing this everyday. And it's only been the first week!"

"At least you don't have to live with one of them," Tim said darkly, his sister and girlfriend nodding next to him.

"I hope our individual mentors go easy on us this week," Cassie added, shivering. "Or just go easy on us in general. Because if that's just a taste of what's to come…"

" _ **I didn**_ _ **'t have that bad of a time,**_ " Secret added cheekily.

Her fellow students glared at her.

Over at the side, wearing domino masks to hide their identities, were Damian and Jon. The former scoffed, tipping his nose into the air. "You are all weak and incompetent. Jon and I would've completed those exercises on our first try."

Tim gave him a flat look. "I don't want to hear that from a kid who couldn't figure out how to operate a potato peeler."

"Shut up, Timothy! You promised to never speak of that!"

"I see you are all lively now," Donna said as Jason, Kon and her all exited the building with their own bags. Jason went over to the gates and unveiled a hidden keypad, which he began typing a code into. An invisible forcefield encased the entire resort, shielding it from attack and hiding it from outside view.

"There. That should keep the place safe while we're not here," he glanced at his students. "Remember, from now on you'll all be arriving her Friday afternoons, so you can settle in quicker and we can have all of Saturday to ourselves. Understood?"

"Understood," was chorused from everyone present, more than a few half-heartedly.

Jason ignored those, and clapped his hands. "Good! Now let's—"

Before he could finish, there was a flash of green light. When it was gone, everyone stared as a tiny blue midget with long white hair wearing a red suit floated in the midst of them all. None of the younger heroes recognized him.

The older ones were a different matter.

"Ganthet!" Jason, Donna, and Kon all shouted, shocked.

Ganthet hummed as his wizened gaze swept over them. "I would ask how you know my name, but there simply isn't time for that. I do not know why the Martian suggested I bring you, but I suppose more help could not hurt."

Then, another flash of green light. This time, when it faded away, there was not a soul to be seen.

* * *

Kyle Rayner was having a terrible day.

A really, _really_ terrible day.

But that was just par for the course lately. Not only did he have Alan Scott tailing him all the time (something that they had both gotten sick of two days in, as much as they liked each other) but he also had a host of commissions to finished when he got attacked by the blue midget's illusion-test thing. And then this guy showed up, who turned out to be his predecessor Hal Jordan, aka the guy who destroyed the Green Lantern Corps, aka a bunch of people who were way, _way_ better using this ring than he was…

It was a shitty day all around. Jordan attacked because he wanted the ring and Kyle wasn't willing to give it to him, the midget dude ditched them, Alan got his ass kicked early on, and now Kyle was getting his ass kicked in his place. He had managed to hold out longer, much better than he thought he would (something even Jordan commented on), but seeing as he was now in the grip of a gigantic construct of his predecessor and unable to make a dent into it with his energy blasts, he wasn't going to be doing much anymore.

And _ooh_ , there was the concrete street.

Pain. An unfortunately familiar feeling, ever since he got this damn ring. Why did he want it again?

Before Kyle could answer that question, there was Jordan, and he was jawing a compliment as he reached for the ring. Then there a flash of green light and there was like several members of the JLA, Hawkman, Green Arrow, and…Young Justice? Plus Donna and Nightwing's other brother, aka the one Donna ditched Roy and him for after she time-traveled or whatever.

There was a beat as Kyle reflected on that thought.

…why did he want the ring again?

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking, bringing them to a fight against Parallax!" Jason shrieked at Ganthet, pointing one hand at the aforementioned Parallax who was now engaging his former compatriots in battle, and the other at Young Justice, Batgirl, and Stargirl, who clearly had no idea what was going on, and Stephanie, who was hiding an apprehensive Damian and Jon behind her.

Before Ganthet could reply, Donna cut in. "Knight! Lantern!" she yelled, Kon and her having gone to check out the prone form of the current Green Lantern.

Jason twisted away from Ganthet to look and flinched at the numerous injuries on Kyle's person. Then he clicked his teeth. "You're going to get Superman, aren't you?" Jason predicted.

Ganthet cocked an eyebrow before nodding. Jason sighed, before turning back to look at the teenagers. They looked ready to fight, if a bit out of their depth and scared. He didn't blame them — against a Parallax-possessed Hal Jordan, he was going to be absolutely no help here. Young Justice were good for their age, but quite frankly none of them had the experience or firepower to challenge someone on that level directly. But…perhaps…

"Fine. Impulse," he barked, causing the speedster to stand at attention, "take those three," he pointed at Stephanie, Damian, and Jon, "and get them away from here. Then come back and take Batgirl, Arrowette, and Robin with you. You three are to protect them — you'll be no help here against someone with Parallax's powers, especially at your current experience level."

He then glanced at the the remaining students. "After Impulse drops them off, he's going to come back here. Wonder Girl, Stargirl, Secret, you three along with Impulse are to stay here with Green Lantern and guard him. Do _not_ engage Parallax unless you absolutely have to. If you do, your primary objective is to make sure he does not get Green Lantern's power ring. Be careful, though. Hal Jordan is still in there somewhere, and you're children, so he's unlikely to harm you too badly, but do not count on that. If you think he might go lethal, get out of dodge."

Not bothering to wait for confirmation, Jason then turned his attentions to the last two members of the group. "You two think you can handle him?"

Donna and Kon smirked and floated upward, with the former drawing her lasso. "Do you remember who you're talking to?" Kon boasted.

Jason smirked beneath his mask. "Right. Go. Hold him off as long as possible." As he friends flew off, he finally settled his gaze back on Ganthet.

"Before you head to get Superman, teleport me to Kyle's apartment. I have some business over there that should help with the current situation."

* * *

_Why don_ _'t they understand?_ Hal thought viciously as he created another pair of chains to restrain J'onn. _Why?_

He would make everything right. Coast City would be reborn, along with so many other places lost, like Mars and Krypton. Loved ones returned, lives restored. No more tragedy, no more _pain_. All he needed was the ring, it would be the first step to making things back to what they used to be. How they _should_ be.

J'onn tossed away, over at Rayner — who was now being guarded by a bunch of kids, _what the hell_ — and there was Arthur and Carter and no, he can't have them meddling either. Ollie is trying to talk him down but Hal can't be swayed by him either, he _can_ _'t_. Then there was Wally, talking with him, pleading with him, and Hal can't help the pride he feels, the pride he knows Barry would feel if he was standing here right now. Even so, he blasts Wally away, telling him he would understand one day that he was right, and he's _sorry sorry sorry_ …

…but this is for the best. He knows it is.

Enough of this. It's time take back what's his. He flew over to Rayner—

And slammed into an invisible wall.

"Sorry, Jordan. We can't let you do that."

Hal shook his head and turned around, stiffening slightly when he saw his attackers. "Donna Troy. You've grown up. You look a lot like your sister. And Superboy, I see you've adapted to the superhero life."

Kon shrugged, though he was still tense, ready for battle. "Thanks. Now leave."

"Why are you trying to stop me? You have no stake in this."

Donna narrowed her eyes as she grabbed her lasso from her side and gripped it. "Now that's where you're wrong, Hal."

Before Hal could comment on that, he was slammed with one of the strongest telekinetics blasts he had ever felt. It sent him flying, far away from Rayner, and careening into the street. Before he could react, he felt a lasso wrap around his chest, binding his arms to his sides. "Not gonna try and order me around, are you Troy?" he grunted as he flew back up into the sky, the lasso still restraining him. "You know it won't work."

"Of course not. My will might be strong, but you were the greatest of all Green Lanterns for a reason," Donna retorted, before using her considerable strength to hurl to him away into another street. Couldn't do buildings, didn't want to risk civilians. "But it's still a lasso and I'm plenty strong enough to toss you around with it."

"True," Hal conceded, before bursting with power, causing the lasso to loosen. He then created small jet-fighter plane to attack her, but once again found it smashed down by a powerful force. He let out another scoff and glared at the culprit — Superboy, who was floating behind him. "I thought you needed to touch stuff to use your telekinesis."

Kon smirked. "That was the old me."

"Good to know." And then, a green clamp burst into view and tried to grasp the young clone. Kon formed a bubble of telekinetic energy around him to block it, which Hal had been anticipating — he used the clamp to grab it like one would a ball and threw it into a nearby building. Kon tumbled with it and landed into the building with a crash, dispersing the bubble.

* * *

"C'mon, c'mon, where is it…?" Jason rifled through the various paintings and commissions and old junk food. Even in the past Kyle kept a messy apartment. It was something oddly comforting to realize, if incredibly inconvenient considering the current situation.

Finally, after pushing away some knick-knacks, he found it. Jason picked up the lantern by its handle, watching his face reflected against the gleaming green exterior of the power battery. He put a hand to his comm. "Impulse. I need you come to this address and pick me up. I've got something for Green Lantern."

* * *

Donna pounded her fists against the shield, ducking when she saw it shift and subsequently dodging another blast from Hal's other hand. From behind Hal, Kon was holding on for dear life, trying to use his telekinesis to pull the other man down back to the ground so he could suplex him. Hal, however, had gotten wary of his powers and was repeatedly slamming his back into various surfaces, preventing Kon from concentrating. Eventually, the blows became too much and Kon's hold loosened as he concentration fully broke. He began falling, causing Donna to give up her assault to catch him.

The moment she did, however, Hal blasted her in the back. He kept it up until he was sure she was unconscious. Donna began to fall with Kon still in her arms, until she felt herself caught as well. Her eye opened slightly, sight bleary. "Clark?"

Superman smiled comfortingly at her, nodding slightly. "I'm here, Donna. It's going to be okay." He gently flew down and set her and Kon next to the still-recovering Kyle, before flying up again to meet Parallax. He faced the distorted version of his old friend, arms crossed. "That's enough, Hal."

As the two began to duel, Impulse finally returned with Jason in his arms. Ganthet, who was watching the battle from the sidelines, frowned when he saw what Jason was carrying. "The power battery? It will be of no use. Kyle Rayner cannot defeat Hal Jordan. Not as he is now."

"He stands a better chance than anyone else here," Jason shot back, before setting the power battery down next to Kyle's prone body, tangentially aware of the young heroes gathering around them in curiosity and fear. "Rayner. Wake up."

Kyle opened his eyes, though no one could see it beneath his mask. "What…?"

"Charge your ring. It should heal you enough to fight."

"But…I can't…"

"You can and you will. You're Green Lantern now. Superman can't hold him off for long but he'll exhaust him enough for you to finish the job. Parallax only has so much power before he needs to grab your ring and recharge using it."

Ganthet whipped his head around to glare at Jason. "How do you know that?"

Jason ignored him. "Kyle—"

"Excuse me."

Everyone froze as they spotted Parallax descending upon them, a defeated Superman floating next to him with a green glow. "I'll be taking my ring now," Hal said, smiling with uncharacteristic viciousness.

Wonder Girl and Impulse immediately charged him only to be slapped away, their backs impacting a nearby light post. Secret tried to swallow him up, but a cube construct formed around her, and she was shocked to realize that she couldn't phase out of it. Stargirl leveled her staff and fired, but the continuous beam of starlight energy did nothing to slow down the former Green Lantern. Upon realizing that, Jason stood up and drew one of his sticks and electrified it.

Hal noticed this and scoffed. "You don't actually expect that to work, do you?"

"I don't know," Jason admitted grimly. "But if the alternative is letting you have that ring, I'm willing to try."

The former Lantern tilted his head. "Oh, really? I can see that bat on your chest. I guess the apple doesn't really fall far from the tree."

Jason barked a mirthless laugh. "You have no idea."

Stargirl stopped with the beam and, with a cry, flew forward, striking at Parallax with her staff. Jason followed her with his own attack, aiming for the exposed junction between Hal's neck and his armor. Both were immediately blasted away before they could connect. Hal continued striding forward, as if he were on some leisurely stroll in the park.

Kyle, seeing the last of his defenders gone, ignored the pain in his body and tried to reach for his power battery. Hal lifted a hand to blast that away too—

And then, a white glow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you like that cliffhanger. I've been meaning to write that for a while.
> 
> I based the camp (and the training system, for that matter) on some of the stuff I've seen in _My Hero Academia._ Tell me what you think about it, but remember, this is the first weekend. Things will get much harder for the kids from here on out.
> 
> Next chapter: Kyle Rayner.


	13. Green Lantern 2814.4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nobody ever really _got_ Kyle Rayner, except, perhaps, Kyle Rayner.
> 
> Maybe that’s for the best.

_White._

_Always white._

_Always and always._

… _Let there be light._

* * *

Hal shielded his eyes as a white glow emanated from Kyle. Then, he felt himself blown away by another burst of power, sent flying away from his quarry. "What the hell…?" he asked as he slid against the road, grimacing.

Similarly, the various young heroes along with Superman were all coming to and watching the scene in disbelief. "Well, I'll be damned," the Kryptonian muttered, eyes wide. Nearby, Jason similarly watched the scene with a certain knowing apprehension, even as he felt relief enter his heart. Donna and Kon had managed to sit up, hanging on to each other for stability and leverage, and were both smiling weakly, though with a tinge of bittersweetness.

Ganthet was the most surprised of all. "What is this?" he gasped out.

The glow faded. Kyle laid prone for a moment, before snapping up, grabbing his power battery despite the obvious pain he was in. He got to his feet, barely aware of all the heroes surrounding him, nor the other heroes that had also just come to and were just now reaching the scene, including Alan Scott. He held the battery before him, and thrust his ring forward.

And then he spoke.

" _In brightest day, in blackest night_ _…_ " he began to recite.

"No way," Wally whispered, never thinking he'd ever hear those words again, not after learning about what his Uncle Hal did to the Green Lantern Corps. Next to him, with his bow in hand, Oliver Queen stilled, his eyes shifting between both Kyle and Hal.

"… _no evil shall escape my sight…_ "

Alan Scott landed gently next to Stargirl, helping his young friend and teammate get up. They both stopped as they watched the emerald glow around Kyle grew brighter, engulfing him entirely and blinding them like the white one had before. As he watched, Alan felt his heart skip a beat.

"… _let those who worship evil's might…_ "

"You."

Jason, now on his knees, glanced at an utterly perplexed and slightly distressed Ganthet. "You know what's going on," the Guardian stated. "Explain."

The former Batman tilted his head. "Nah. I'll let Kyle have that honor himself."

"… _beware my power…_ "

Hal Jordan watched as the emerald glow grew fiercer, and saw a thousand memories pass through his mind. Memories of a time long past, a time he had been trying to desperately recreate for these past several months. A time where it had been him that held a power battery in one hand and power ring in the other, where it had been him reciting that oath.

He felt his insides stutter, and heard a cry in his head that sounded suspiciously like his own.

"… _GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!_ "

There was another burst of energy, an emerald green that soared into the sky and could be seen for miles. A hand—no, a _ring_ , was thrust upwards along with it, as energy flowed from it and encased its bearer. For a single, everlasting moment, it was like nothing else existed in the world as every hero present watched as the current Green Lantern super-charged his ring, healing his injuries near instantly.

When the aura faded, it revealed Kyle Rayner in his full glory. His uniform had changed completely, the white color removed in favor of an entirely green and black ensemble. There was a Green Lantern symbol still on his left pec, however. His visor, meanwhile, had gotten rid of the protrusion on its sides completely in favor of a linearly smooth design. He had one hand up, curled into a fist to the reveal his smoking ring, and his power batter hanging from the other.

He set the latter down, and then his gaze almost immediately zeroed in on Hal. "Parallax," he hissed, lifting up and then speeding forward. He rammed into Hal with a literal ram encased around him, sending the other man flying. Before Hal could recover, he was grabbed by another beam of green energy and tossed into the air, where a construct of a magical girl blasted him with another beam of energy with her wand.

In a flash she was gone, and soon there was a dragon in her place. It breathed green fire unto Hal, causing the older man to shriek, before trying to bite down on him. Hal barely managed to form a two-pronged lift to prevent it from biting down before using his own considerable power to completely dispel it. He whipped his head to and fro, trying to find Kyle, his confusion replaced with a furious glower.

"Get out of Hal," Kyle's voice commanded. Hal whirled around and froze. An utterly massive construct of a giant Godzilla roared before its back lit up, the light moving up his spine before centering on his head. There was only a moment of warning before Godzilla's maw snapped open and his atomic breath hit Hal full-force, sending him into the Hudson River below.

"Unreal…" Alan said disbelievingly, as the heroes watched on the ongoing brawl from the sidelines. The rest of the heroes were silent, too entranced by the sight.

"He was nowhere near as skilled with the ring before," Ganthet noted, both stunned and impressed. "Now he's forming solid and gargantuan constructs at a rapid pace with no signs of struggle or exhaustion. Not even Hal Jordan or Thaal Sinestro were ever this capable. How is he doing this?"

Jason chuckled as he got to his feet. "Easy. He's been doing this for way longer than Jordan _and_ Sinestro."

"Combined, right?" Kon asked, glancing at Donna.

Donna shrugged. "Maybe. We don't know how old Sinestro is, after all."

Ganthet scowled as he glared at all three of them. "And how, exactly, is that possible?"

The three of them exchanged looks and then shrugged. "When we figure it out, Ganthet, we'll tell you," Donna told him, rubbing the back of her head.

* * *

Back at the battle, an enraged Hal burst out of the water, once again forming that giant construct of himself to combat the Godzilla Kyle had formed. The two began to exchange punches as their respective creators poured more power and willpower into them. Eventually, it became too much, and the two dissipated after one final cross counter.

Hal panted as he and Kyle began to circle each other again. He had already expelled a lot of energy today trying to get his ring back, more than he initially thought he would. Anymore and he would have to retreat back to Oa, try to regain his strength for another attempt.

"For the last time, Parallax," Kyle spoke, deathly serious with only just a hint of anger coloring his tone, grasping at his wrist, "Leave Hal."

The former Green Lantern narrowed his eyes, even as he felt something tingle in the back of his head. "What the hell are you talking about, kid? I _am_ Parallax."

"No," Kyle denied, shaking his head. "You're not."

There was no desperation in his tone. He said it so matter-of-factly, as if he knew, for certain, that Hal _wasn_ _'t_ Parallax. It almost caused the other man to falter. What was this kid talking about? Did he know something that Hal didn't?

Before he could respond, a new construct formed into Kyle's hand — a scythe. Hal prepared for Kyle to charge and swing, but instead Kyle spun it around, causing it fold into itself until it was some sort of gun rifle. Then, he aimed and shot, hitting Hal right in the chest. That sent the other man tumbling away in the air, only just catching himself and shaking it off in time to dodge another shot. "What kind of weapon is that?" Hal demanded.

Kyle smirked as he turned the weapon back into a scythe and aimed the blade at Hal once more. Then he fired it, and Hal found himself shot _again_. "Talk to me again in about two years, and you'll see," He shouted to his opponent, before finally charging forward and swinging the scythe at Hal's midsection.

It struck true, and Hal cried out in pain a cut formed on his armor, revealing a deep wound. The first wound he had ever suffered ever since becoming Parallax. He grabbed at it, wincing, before once again glaring directly at Kyle.

"You win this round!" He boomed, his pride hurt at the admission. "But I'll be back! And I _will_ take my ring back! Mark my words, Kyle Rayner!"

And with that final word, he disappeared.

* * *

Kyle stared at the space where his predecessor once floated, and then scoffed. "Parallax has even got him talking like your stereotypical supervillain. It must be really intent on keeping up the charade," he muttered. He then flew down back to where his comrades were waiting for him.

Upon arrival, he realized that all of them were still in a bit of shock. Apparently the idea of another time traveler after Donna actually appearing hadn't really been accepted despite the words of his friends. Which meant this was going to be awkward.

He landed on the ground, and smiled hollowly. "Hello, everyone," he said, mostly as a courtesy.

The JLA and co. just stared. Except for Jason, Donna, and Kon, who simply beckoned him over. Kyle felt his shoulders slump slightly in relief, and he walked over to them. They were younger, yes, but it was _them_ and they were more familiar to him than anyone else here.

Donna was the first to meet him, letting go of Kon and pulling him into a hug. "Sorry for dying on you, Don," Kyle apologized as he returned the embrace.

"As long you don't do it again for a long time, it's all water under the bridge," Donna replied, giving him a pat on the back and a kiss on the cheek. She was soon replaced by Jason, who Kyle just knew was smirking under his mask.

"Asshole."

"Jackass."

A beat of silence, and then Kyle grinned and one could sense Jason was doing the same. The two then exchanged a hug as well. "Missed you, you jerk," Kyle admitted with a sigh of fondness.

"Missed you too, Rayner. Missed you too."

They released their embrace as well, and the Kyle's grin morphed into a smirk as he glanced at Donna. "I'm glad you finally got your head out of your ass, by the way," he said cheekily.

Jason punched him in the arm, grumbling. "Is everyone going to comment on that?" he asked the universe.

"Yes," Kyle and Kon answered in unison, before glancing at each other and laughing. Jason cursed them both as he returned to a sympathetic and amused Donna's side.

As the laughter subsided, Kyle pulled Kon into one last hug. "It's good to see you, man. You don't know how much we all missed you."

Kon pulled out of the embrace and took a look at Jason and Donna, before smiling sadly. "Maybe not, but I think I have a pretty good guess."

Kyle nodded, before turning around to face the non-time travelers. They had been watching the scene pensively, and warily, though some like Superman also had sorrow in their expressions. Kyle's smile faded, and he sighed.

"I guess you have questions?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

There were some nods.

"Okay then," Kyle said mildly, looking up at the sky. "But I think we should take this conversation elsewhere. Somewhere more private."

* * *

For the second time in a week, the Watchtower was beheld to a massive meeting. Jason had Impulse recover the rest of Young Justice, Batgirl, and their three civilian friends and family for the mass teleport. Once they were on the Watchtower, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the JLA were contacted about the situation and teleported in as well. Jason also made sure to contact Alfred and inform why they weren't going to be home yet.

While they waited for the rest of the team to arrive, Kyle chatted idly with the three of them, catching up on what they had been doing since the time travel started, including the camp. They could see the gleam in his eye — he wanted in on that too. Of course, they would have to further accommodate the base for his lessons, and chances are Kyle would have to take a long trip to space so he could restore the Green Lantern Corps in the future, but that was for the _future_ , not now.

From the corner of his eye, Jason could spot Green Arrow, Hawkman, and Ganthet watching them. They were the only three present who weren't aware of the time travel, and had been dutifully informed by the others upon their arrival to the Watchtower. Shocked and slightly dismayed, they were watching the four of them like a (heh) hawk, with Ganthet in particular eying Kyle as if he was seeing him for the first time. It seemed Kyle's display in driving off Parallax had changed his mind about the young Lantern tremendously.

Finally, the door slid open and Batman and Wonder Woman arrived, followed by Plastic Man, Steel and a few others. Kyle straightened up, and nodded at Diana, who approached him with the Lasso of Hestia. She wrapped it around his arm, and stared directly into his face, mindful of their audience.

"What is your name?"

"Kyle Aaron Rayner."

"Did you time travel?"

"I believe so. I remember dying almost forty years from now before waking up here."

"Do you have any malicious intentions towards anyone here?"

"No."

Satisfied, Diana removed the Lasso from Kyle's arm. Then she gave him a pat on the shoulder and a smile. Kyle smiled back before turning around to face everyone else. "It's good to see all of you," he said warmly, almost serenely.

There wasn't an answer. No one here really knew how to react to that statement. Kyle noticed, his smile falling with another sigh. "I guess you want to know what's going on with Hal?" he asked instead.

"Yes," Oliver replied before anyone else could say anything. "I heard you telling Parallax to 'get out' of Hal. What the hell was that about?"

"Knight," Batman grunted, catching everyone's attention, "You said Parallax was a fear entity possessing Jordan last time we discussed this, but you didn't elaborate further. Why?"

Jason shrugged. "Because I only knew so much. Lantern here can explain it here better, since he was there in-person for most of it."

"Throw me under the bus, why don't ya?" Kyle deadpanned as he once again became the center of attention. He exhaled deeply. "Parallax is, in fact, what Knight said — a fear entity. The cosmic embodiment of fear to be accurate. He was sealed into the Central Power Battery on Oa millions of years ago by the Guardians, who then eliminated all memory of it from their minds so anyone one who did know of it would never find it. He's the source of the Green Lantern power ring's weakness to yellow, as he's associated with that color, and his presence in the Central Power Battery was an impurity of sorts that spread to all the power rings. That's actually why _my_ ring isn't weak to yellow — there's no longer a Parallax in the Central Battery to corrupt it."

There was a beat of silence as everyone processed that information. Ganthet in particular was completely alert and shaking, which was strange behavior coming from the Guardian. "If that is true, Kyle Rayner, than how did it come to possess Hal Jordan?"

Kyle stared at his old mentor for a moment, before shaking his head, getting a grip on himself. "Easy. Because Hal and the Corps sealed _another_ being into the Central Power Battery. That being then manipulated Parallax into driving Hal Jordan gradually mad over the years — hence why Hal went gray-haired so early. Eventually, after the destruction of Coast City, Hal was in complete despair and at his lowest point, which Parallax took advantage of. It nudged Hal over the edge, sending him after the Central Battery, whispering about how he could use its power to restore Coast City. After Hal defeated the Corps and entered the Battery, he was fully possessed by Parallax and has been under its control ever since."

"But that can't be!" Ganthet exclaimed. "The only other being we sealed into the Central Power Battery in recent memory was—" The Guardian stopped as the realization hit.

"Sinestro," Kyle finished for him.

Almost immediately, there were gasps and expressions of dismay. Just about _everyone_ present knew about Sinestro — he was Hal Jordan's arch-enemy. Hal's former mentor and teacher, his partner, a man who had conquered his own world and put it under a dictatorship in the name of 'order'. He was one of the most dangerous supervillains in history. But most of all…

"That can't be," Alan Scott said through the din of noise. "Sinestro is dead. Hal killed him, snapped his neck."

Kyle shook his head. "That wasn't Sinestro — that was a hard light construct created by Parallax to help fake Sinestro's death. Sinestro is alive, and if my memory of the timeline is correct, he's retreated to the Anti-Matter Universe to start building his own Central Battery with the Qwardians with the intent of creating his own Lantern Corps."

Silence once again blanketed the room as everyone present mulled on that in sheer horror. It seemed too fantastic to be true, but it was too elaborate to be anything else. There was not a hint of a lie in Kyle's visage, and the implications of what he was saying were not lost on anyone present.

Ganthet once again began to shake. "What else do you know?" he demanded quietly.

Kyle flared his nostrils. "Everything. Blackest Night, Volthoom — even the Life Entity currently incubating in the Earth's core."

" _What!_ "

And just like the chaos started again. Everyone was talking over each other, demanding that Ganthet explain that particular revelation. Kyle leaned back as he watched the fireworks, feeling his friends do the same beside him. It seemed cruel, to do this, to Ganthet especially. But Kyle, like any other Lantern of his time, had some unresolved issues against the Guardians, and as much as he loved Ganthet, he couldn't help but resent him for how all of this began.

"Not holding back, huh?" Kon idly commented, plopping his chin into his hand.

"Nope," Kyle said, the slightest smirk on his lips.

* * *

Finally, after several minutes of pandemonium, Batman put the figurative foot down. He got onto a chair and shouted " **ENOUGH!** " and just like that, the entire room fell so silent one could hear a pin drop. The Bat glared at them all for a few moments, before sighing.

"As interesting as learning all that would be, it would be safe to assume that none of that will be important for at least a couple of years, correct?" He glanced at the time travelers.

There was lots of nodding though Jason made a 'so-so' gesture just to be sure. Bruce reminded himself to corner Rayner to schedule another tell-all for later. In fact, when they had this whole time travel mess worked out, he was going to schedule a tell-all from all of them. It was going to be informative, for certain. But until then…

"Very well. Since that is settled, we need to deal with our current pressing matter — the fact that another time traveler has appeared during this time and merged with his past self. I am sure you are all aware of the implications?"

Grimaces. Lots and lots of grimaces. Yes, it seemed everyone was well aware of the implications.

"Good. Then our new priority is locating the other potential targets and relocating them to a safe and secure location. Flash, we need to get your cousin. Aquaman—"

Arthur sighed. "Mera still refuses to speak to me."

Jason stepped forward. "But you know where she is, don't you?"

"Well, yes. What of it?"

The former Batman looked at his best friend, and they exchanged a single nod. "Then take us to her. We'll convince her to speak to you and take us to Kaldur'ahm."

"You aren't planning to harm her, are you?" Arthur asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

Kon and Jason both looked offended. "Of course not! We're just going to talk!"

"Good."

Bruce cleared his throat. "That just leaves the Martian. Martian Manhunter?"

J'onn shook his head. "If she is here on this planet, then she is not responding to my mental calls. I do not know where she is."

Everyone sighed upon hearing that. "Fine, but keep looking. We need to locate her immediately. Until then, Troy, you go with Flash to pick up his cousin. Knight, Superboy, we'll teleport you down back to Earth with Aquaman. And Rayner—"

"I'll stay here," Kyle offered. "I need time to…acclimate, before I do anything else."

"If you feel that is best, then go ahead. The rest of you, head home for now and rest. But be prepared for anything else that may come our way. Dismissed."

* * *

"Well, kids, I'm sorry your first camp had to end like that," Jason apologized to his students as they waited to be transported home via teleporter. "But we should have figured something like that would happen. Something always does."

"That's not really inspiring a lot of confidence, Jay," Tim told him flatly.

Jason gave him an affectionate pat on the back. "When you've been a superhero for as long as I have, you tend to expect the worst to always happen, little brother. You'll understand one day."

" _ **Uh, Knight?**_ " Everyone turned to look at a hesitant Secret. " _ **Is Green Lantern going to be teaching us too now?**_ "

"Maybe," Jason said after a moment of thought. "His expertise is important, but his lessons aren't ones you should be learning at your age. At least, not to their fullest extent. We'll have to discuss it with him later."

"What about our stuff?" Courtney asked.

"I already talked that over with Ganthet. Apparently he teleported your stuff back at your respective houses — and don't ask me how he did that, he's a Guardian, they tend to do stuff like that. Be prepared to field any questions from your perspective guardians. If they're in the secret, tell them about Kyle, but that's it."

With that last instruction, he saw them off one-by-one. Eventually, there were only Bats and their three civilian tag-a-longs. Jon had been checked over by his father after the battle was over, and was now instructed to head back to the Manor to pick up his stuff and go home. Bruce had done the same with Stephanie and Damian, and now they were heading home with Tim and Cass as well.

"Again, I'm sorry you had to get dragged into this," Jason told Stephanie and the kids.

Stephanie waved him off. "We live in Gotham, Jason, it's nothing new. You managed to get us out of dodge as soon as possible anyway. It wasn't your fault."

"You're not going to be around the Manor much anymore, are you?" Damian suddenly said, causing the group to fall silent.

Jason looked down at his little brother, and then sighed. He crouched down and put his hands on the young boy's shoulders. "Probably not, at least not for a while. I'm sorry, Damian, but this — whatever this is — I have a feeling it's not going to end soon. And I'm going to be out a lot to deal with it."

The younger boy swallowed, and then pulled his brother into a hug. Jason was stunned for a moment, before smiling and returning it. "Then please be careful, Jason. I do not wish to lose you." _Not again._

"You won't. I promise." He ruffled his little brother's hair before giving a meaningful look to the other teenagers. They nodded before heading over to the teleporters with Damian and Jon. It was time to go home.

* * *

"I'd figure I'd find you out here," Kon stated as he spotted Kyle standing in one of the corridors of the Watchtower, staring out at the recesses of space. "Reminiscing?"

Kyle shrugged. "Aren't we all?"

"True," Kon conceded, moving to stand next to his friend. "How are you feeling?"

"I imagine much like you all did when you first arrived. Happy, scared, grieving. I knew it was a possibility but I didn't think it would actually happen. And now…" Kyle flickered his eyes towards one direction in particular. "Well, there's so much to do I can barely wrap my head around it all."

"And yet, unlike us, you've managed to keep your head straight so far," Kon leaned against the glass, "But considering that it's you, I shouldn't really be surprised."

"What can I say?" Kyle replied, shrugging. "I am what I am."

"Yeah. You are." Kon crossed his arms. "But I do have one question. Soranik?"

Kyle's face marbled, as his eyes flickered towards Kon. For a moment, Kon could have sworn there was a hint of violet, but if there was, it was gone before Kon could even zero in on it. His friend's face was perfectly blank, devoid of emotion except a single, nearly imperceptible smile.

 _So that hasn_ _'t changed either._ He didn't even want to know what that meant for the future.

"Love is love," Kyle responded, positively serene. "You know how I am, Kon. I follow my heart."

"And your heart led you to the woman who's broken it more than anyone else," Kon stated neutrally, trying not to sound accusing. "The daughter of your worst enemy."

Kyle shrugged once more. "Like I said, I am what I am. Just because I keep my emotions under control, does not mean I do not feel them."

"No. It doesn't. You do feel them." Kon narrowed his eyes. "You feel _everything_."

"Yes. What of it?"

Kon scoffed. "You know that Jason has deliberately refrained from calling you a Green Lantern? At least, when wherever he can get away with it. And there is no way his father missed that, and we all know it."

"Again, what of it?"

A beat of silence.

"Kyle…can you access it?"

"…I don't know. I haven't tried yet."

"Even if you can't, you can't hide it forever. Ganthet, John, Guy, Carol, Hal, when we can get Parallax out of him — they're all going to want to know. And they aren't going to like it. They aren't going to like _any_ of it."

"I wasn't planning to, Kon," Kyle replied, fiddling with his ring. A Green Lantern ring — it had been so long since he only had this ring to use. "I already gave them a taste when I explained Parallax. When we get Hal back, I'll explain the rest. It isn't important right now anyway."

"Maybe, maybe not." Kon turned around and pressed his forearm against the glass window that displayed the stars. "Kyle, whatever is causing this would know what you are. They wouldn't dare risk bringing you back without some nefarious purpose in mind."

"Is that you talking or Jason?"

"It's all three of us, actually."

The two heroes hardly reacted as Jason and Donna walked into the hall to join them. "We discussed this over the week," Donna explained, "we figured that if stopped with three of us, then it would be someone with a grudge against us three, and that would narrow the field down. It's not like we didn't make our own fair share of enemies who would be irrational enough to pull a stunt like this off. But even people who have grudges against the entire council would be hesitant to bring you in, Kyle. The risk would be too great."

"Which means that whoever is doing this either has one hell of a grudge, or wanted you for something," Jason surmised.

"You know your dad is probably watching us right now, right?" Kon deadpanned.

"I know, but he isn't going to figure out anything anyway," Jason replied, waving him off.

* * *

In another room in the Watchtower, watching the surveillance feeds, was Batman. He grunted in irritation.

"I hate time travel."

* * *

"You already knew all this, didn't you? That's why you're choosing to stay on the Watchtower instead of just going home or visiting the others, trying to explain to them what's going on," Donna accused Kyle, who shrugged.

"Well that and the fact that I don't get along with John and Guy yet in this timeline. I don't even know Carol right now."

"That's not everyone you could visit, though."

There was a wave of silence.

Donna sighed sadly. "Kyle…don't you want to see them?"

"They've been dead for so long that I can hardly remember what they look and sound like," Kyle replied with wistful sorrow.

"It's not your fault," Jason pointed out, tone sympathetic.

"It still feels like it is. Even after all these years," Kyle exhaled out. "My mother is one thing, but Alex… I'm _scared_ to go near her. I'm afraid if I do, Major Force will kill her again and they'll find her strangled body in the fridge, like I did the first time around. And unlike Sinestro, I can't kill him no matter how much I want to."

"You didn't kill Sinestro either, though," Kon reminded him. "You just terrified his entire Corps by wrecking Qward and beating the hell out of him and half the Corpsmen present by yourself."

"And Major Force never did bother you again after you cut off his head and batted it into space," Donna mused.

"True," Kyle conceded. "Maybe I'll just track 'em down and do it again, just to make sure, before I see Alex and mom again." He paused. "Do I think I should tell Alex the truth? There's no hiding it from mom, she'll know me too well, but Alex…"

"I guess it depends on whether or not you plan on keeping her in your life, Kyle," Jason replied, voice solemn. "Whatever your decision, we'll accept it. You deserve that much, at least."

Kyle bit his lip, and looked away.

* * *

About two hours later, it was time to go. Jason and Kon met up with Aquaman and teleported with him down to Amnesty Bay. While they were doing that, Donna waited with Wally to do the same. There was an awkward air between them — they hadn't really talked since the debacle of last week. Then again, none of the Titans, not even Dick, had really talked to her ever since she told them her decision to quit the team. It must've felt like a betrayal to them, on their end, even though it really wasn't.

Donna was both hurt and relieved, a dichotomy of feelings that she rarely ever felt. She wasn't sure if she was ready to talk to them all yet. It was different for Jason and Kon — Jason didn't really befriend his closest friends in the superhero community until he was into adulthood. Kon had only _just_ befriended his own close friends at this point in the timeline. It was…easier, for them to adjust.

Not Donna. Donna had been friends with several members of the Titans for _years_ , since the very beginning of her career as a superhero. As awkward and bittersweet as it was for Donna to be facing them all again, alive and well, it was just as awkward for Dick, Roy, and the others. Their friend, their Donna, had been effectively been replaced with an older version of herself that had long moved on with her life. They knew the younger her like the back of their hand, but the person she was now? She might as well be a stranger.

Her relationship with Jason, her close friendships with Kon and now Kyle as well, her departure from the Titans…it almost felt like she was burning bridges with all of them.

"So…Dick's kid brother, huh?"

But then again, nobody ever said that burnt bridges couldn't be rebuilt.

Donna smiled. "He hasn't really been 'Dick's kid brother' to me in a long time, Wally. He's just…Jason, you know?"

"Yeah," Wally said after a moment, "Yeah, I think I get it. I'm…I'm glad you managed to find some happiness in your life, Donna. After everything."

"Thank you for saying that. It means a lot, coming from you." A hand was placed on his shoulder. "You're scared, aren't you? Scared about what Wallace will be like if he comes back like I did."

"Wouldn't you be?" Wally blurted out.

Donna cocked an eyebrow. "Considering I knew Wallace very well before he died, not really. But then again, seeing your eleven-year-old cousin mentally age up to adulthood would be difficult for anyone, even if you knew what exactly he would be like." She squeezed Wally's shoulder. "Do not worry, Wally. Wallace grew into a fine man and a great hero. You would be proud."

Wally smiled slightly, before frowning again. "Donna…what did you guys mean by the fact that he isn't supposed to exist yet? You've seen Wallace before plenty of times. God knows I've shared more than enough photos of him."

The Amazon sighed once again. "Wally, it's complicated. If Wallace does come back, he would be better equipped to explain to you."

"I'm not going to like the answer, am I?" Wally said in realization.

Donna shook her head. "It's…well, let's just say that even the best of us falter, Wally. Remember that."

"If you two are done?"

The former Titans glanced at Batman, who was waiting impatiently by the teleporter. "They've been locked on to Central City's coordinates. Go."

"You know what I didn't miss? That," Donna stated dryly as Wally and her stepped onto the teleporting pads. "My boyfriend is nowhere near as bossy as him."

Wally laughed.

Donna smiled.

Maybe the bridges _were_ burnt. But that didn't mean they didn't have the time build them back up.

No, they had all the time in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kyle Rayner, everybody. He's…well, he's still Kyle, but he's a bit _different_ from what you'd expect normal Kyle to be. You'll see more of that later.
> 
> Next chapter: Gathering the others.


	14. Marriage Troubles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Donna goes to collect Wallace with Wally, Jason and Kon have the dubious honor of playing marriage counselor to the most powerful couple in Atlantis.

"So your estranged wife still lives at your lighthouse," Jason deadpanned as Kon, Arthur, and him all stared at the Amnesty Bay lighthouse. A building familiar to both time-travelers, as Kaldur had started living here at the behest of the royal family after he took up the Aquaman mantle. He had protested, of course, but again, Atlanna's word was law to Kaldur. He had served the young queen since the death of her father, protecting her as her bodyguard for several years before Garth decided to retire as Aquaman to an ambassadorial role. Even then Kaldur had refused to succeed him until Atlanna herself made it clear it was her wish.

Arthur ignored him. But of course, he had been ignoring both of them since they had teleported down to Amnesty Bay. Neither of them took offense. They were well aware of how difficult this period of time had been for the first Aquaman. The death of his baby son, the deterioration of his marriage, and the constant wear of having to rule a kingdom that would never really accept him thanks to his hybrid heritage — all heroes suffered, but very few had as much as Arthur Curry. It was no wonder he had become so hard, cold, _jaded_ , which was why they were refraining from revealing too much of his future. Not just because of the possibility of Kaldur coming back as well, but also because they didn't know how he would react to the information. His reconciliation with Mera, his daughter Atlanna, her marriage to Ceredian…and Kaldur. The lynchpin of it all.

When Arthur Curry had first learned of Kaldur'ahm, he had just been revived from the dead after the events of Blackest Night and was reeling from the truth of his wife Mera. Most of all, however, he had time to heal from his losses, to see past the boy's biological father — a father Kaldur never knew until he became Aqualad. If he hadn't done that, then Xebel would've successfully invaded the surface world and there would have been millions of casualties as a result.

That was not the case here. The situation might've been pressing, but they still had no idea what the threat was, if there _was_ a threat. And the loss of Arthur Curry, Jr. was still fresh in the Arthur's mind. In his wife's mind as well. Even though Mera knew of Kaldur's existence, her reaction to the reminder of it was unlikely to be receptive. In short, this was a difficult situation that was unlikely to end well.

But what choice did they have?

There was a knock on the door. The sound of someone coming down the stairs. A slight creak — and then a slam. Then a collective sigh from the males present. "Mera!" Arthur shouted again. "Please, open the door! We need to talk, it's urgent!"

No answer.

Jason groaned. "Okay, we don't have time for this. Move aside," he ordered Aquaman, taking out a lockpick. It took seconds to jimmy the door open, and Jason had to duck to dodge a blast of water that nearly brained him. Kon blocked the rest of the water blast with a telekinetic shield, causing the water to splash harmlessly against it before sliding down.

The three peered inside to see Mera, eyes glowing blue and with a glob of water floating threateningly above her. "Get. Out," she hissed.

"Mera, no. We need to talk," Arthur insisted.

"And I said we're done talking. I…" Mera slumped her shoulders, and the ball of water splashed onto her. "I can't talk to your right now. I _can_ _'t_."

Arthur swallowed. "It's not about that, Mera. It's not about us."

"Then what is it about?"

"Kaldur'ahm."

Mera's head snapped up and she stared hard at Jason and Kon, who had stepped into the lighthouse behind Arthur. Arthur shifted away so they could be in Mera's view. "How do you know that name?" Mera whispered.

"It's a long story, one that we don't have time to divulge to you completely, your majesty," Kon told her apologetically. "But suffice to say, we need to know where he is. We have reason to believe he might be in danger."

"No," Mera denied, shaking her head. "He's safe. He's in Atlantis with his mother and foster father, and no one knows who he is. And it will stay that way."

"We all know that isn't true, your majesty," Jason replied, keeping his voice gentle. "The fact that we're here is proof enough. We need to find him and bring him to safety."

"Even so, I cannot…" Mera inhaled deeply once more, "I cannot bring you to him. I'm not sure I could bear to look at him right now. Nor do I think you would be able to, Arthur."

Arthur frowned. "You all have been cagey with information about Kaldur'ahm. Why is that?" He narrowed his eyes. "What are you hiding, Mera?"

Mera gulped. Jason and Kon traded another look, before Jason's gaze settled on the shaking form of the Atlantean Queen. "He needs to know the truth, your majesty. We know how it hard to be to tell him, especially now after…everything. But this is urgent. We need to find Kaldur'ahm _now_."

Once more, the queen sighed. "Fine. Arthur, there's no easy way to say this, but I'm not Atlantean. At least, not in the purest sense."

A moment of silence, and then… " _What?_ "

Jason and Kon remained in the background as they listened to a story that had long-known. A story about a princess from a sealed kingdom in the Bermuda Triangle, that had been taught to hate Atlanteans and sent to kill their king. Only to fall in love with the king, giving up her mission to kill him and marrying him. They could see the conflict on Arthur's face — Mera and him had been married for _years_ , and it was only now he was beginning to learn all of this.

When it was all over, Arthur was seated on his couch, head in his hands. "Why didn't you tell me about this? About any of this?" he demanded his wife.

"Because I thought it didn't matter anymore," Mera confessed. "Xebel is sealed away, never to be released, and thus there was no one to beholden me to my old mission. No one who knew the truth, except for me. I loved you, Arthur. I…I still love you. And I wanted to stay with you, so I did."

"Mera…" Arthur glared up at his wife, though it was weak. He didn't know what to think about this. About any of it. But even so, there was still a mission at hand. "Then what of Kaldur'ahm? Who is he? Why is he so important?"

Mera looked down. "There is a treasure in Xebel. From a pirate captain who had been banished there several centuries ago and died in our dimension. We assign Xebelians to guard it, and the most recent one was a woman by the name of Sha'lain'a. She was beautiful with golden hair, and she took the duty of guarding the treasure seriously. Or, at least she did."

"A human had learned of the legend of the treasure and had managed to slip through the barriers and enter Xebel searching for it. He seduced Sha'lain'a and impregnated her, hoping to use their child to access it. Sha'lain'a, however, suspected the truth and ran off with another man she had fallen in love with to escape him, along with artifact needed to access the treasure. I…helped them, and hid them in Atlantis, where they have been raising their child in peace for the last fourteen years."

"And this child is Kaldur'ahm," Arthur concluded.

"Yes," Mera confirmed.

"There's more to this, isn't there? More that you're hiding," Arthur accused her, before whipping his head to glare at his companions. "Something that you're _all_ hiding. What is it?"

"Aquaman—"

"ANSWER ME!"

The fierceness of his bellow sent Mera reeling and gave even Jason and Kon pause. The three of the unconsciously exchanged another look, debating who among them would tell the truth. Finally, it was Mera who spoke.

"It's about Kaldur's father, Arthur."

Arthur narrowed his eyes further. "The human after the treasure? What of him?"

"He's—"

"Wait!"

Mera was cut off by Kon, who had inexplicably turned around and was now looking in every direction. He had a hand to his ear, which twitched. "Kon…?" Jason ventured.

"We've got incoming!" Kon answered, glaring at the air.

That put everyone on alert. "What!?" The three others shouted in unison, with Arthur quickly jumping to his feet.

Kon's eyes suddenly widened. "EVERYONE! GET BEHIND ME _NOW_!" He shouted urgently.

Not bothering to argue, everyone did exactly that. Kon put up a telepathic shield around all of them, just in time for the entire lighthouse to be blasted wide open with some kind of red energy beam. The surrounding walls were destroyed, and the roof was sent flying away, either onto the surrounding cliffs or into the sea. Even after the attack was over, however, Kon refused to drop the barrier. The attacker hadn't revealed themselves yet.

They waited for several moments, with Mera drawing up surrounding water from both the ground and sea while Jason drew his sticks and held them at the ready. Arthur unsheathed the trident from his back and twirled it around, holding it with both his regular hand and his hook hand. Then the smoke gradually cleared, and they stiffened.

" _Black Manta_ ," Arthur muttered in a hateful tone.

The supervillain tilted his head. "Aquaman."

"What are you doing here, Manta!" Mera demanded hotly, equally angry. "You stand no chance against all four of us! Not by yourself!"

"And that's where you're wrong, Mera," Manta taunted her. "I'm not alone."

That statement was qualified by another blast of red energy. _Heat vision_ , everyone quickly realized. It met Kon's telekinetic barrier, heating it up with the backlash of the blocked energy and forcing Kon to drop the shield, causing the four to jump away from each other so they wouldn't get hit. They glanced up in the sky to see someone floating there — a man, with dark hair and a beard, wearing some kind of full-body suit. Arthur and Mera didn't recognize him.

Jason and Kon were a different matter.

" _Zod_ …" Kon whispered, before his expression morphed into something determined.

"Fuck," Jason swore, trying not to automatically reach for the Kryptonite he kept in a lead casing in his utility belt. It was standard family practice to have some whenever on a mission with a Kryptonian, just in case they were brainwashed. Of course, he hadn't expected to be facing _Zod_ of all people right now.

"Who is Zod?" Aquaman asked as he tensed himself.

"A Kryptonian criminal from the Phantom Zone," Kon explained grimly, floating up into the air. "He was the top general of Krypton, and a contemporary of Superman's father, Jor-El. Unlike the High Council, he believed Jor-El's warnings about Krypton's imminent destruction and attempted a violent coup to take over the planet in hopes of stopping it. He was defeated, and sentenced to the Phantom Zone with his followers."

"He also wasn't supposed to escape the Phantom Zone for at least another year," Jason added, shifting his sticks into their sword forms and brandishing them forward. "The fact that he's here now means something broke him out early."

"A year from now—what do you mean by that?" Mera asked, water dancing around her.

"They're time travelers, Mera," Arthur quickly revealed. "That's how they knew about Kaldur'ahm."

The lens of Manta's helmet glowed ominously. "Oh, so you finally told him about Kaldur, did you Mera?"

Arthur froze. "What does he mean by that?" he demanded his wife, suddenly forgetting the situation. "How does he know about Kaldur'ahm, Mera?"

Mera cringed. "Arthur…"

"Not everything, then," Manta concluded before she could say anything more. "That's fine — you'll find out soon enough."

"Okay, enough of the chit-chat!" Jason yelled. "Why the hell are you two here?"

"Simple, human," Zod responded as he lowered himself near the ground. "For you and the clone. Our benefactor wishes to meet you two, now that the Lantern has come back."

"You know," Kon stated, gritting his teeth.

"Not until recently," Manta admitted. "It was quite the surprise to learn about." His lens began to glow brighter. "I wonder how well you two measure up to your predecessors?"

They only had a split second warning before the beams fired. Jason and Arthur jumped to the right while Kon and Mera jumped to the left. Immediately, Mera used the water of the sea to propel herself upwards to face Zod with Kon, while Jason charged Manta with Arthur.

* * *

"And here we are!" Wally spread his arms. "Central City!"

"I can see that, Wally," Donna laughed as she followed him down the street, ignoring the looks casted their way. Even in Central City, it wasn't everyday you saw a superhero walking down the street.

It wasn't long until they reached the classic West-Allen home, the place where Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen resided together before the former's death. Wally knocked on the door and waited, tapping his foot in a slow and casual manner. Eventually, the door opened and revealed Iris West-Allen in all her glory. "Wally!" she greeted her nephew with a smile.

"Aunt Iris," Wally smiled back, pulling her into a brief hug.

After letting him go, Iris turned to Donna, still smiling. "And Donna Troy! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Donna smiled back, though hers was of a softer variety. "It has, Mrs. West-Allen."

"Oh, pish-posh! Call me Iris! We're both adults now aren't we?"

"We are," Donna agreed.

"So why are you two here?" Iris asked, crossing her arms. "This is bit of an impromptu visit."

Upon hearing that, both superheroes winced. "Can we take this inside, Aunt Iris? It's a bit of a long story."

* * *

Jason grunted as one of his blades clashed against Manta's retractable one. He swung the other one forward, aiming for the chest, but Manta retreated back. Jason was then forced to drop to the ground to dodge another blast of the optic lasers. While he did that, Aquaman charged forward to engage his foe in one-on-one combat.

Over in the sky, Kon was using almost all of his telekinesis to augment his strength and durability so he could match Zod blow-for-blow. Without his Kryptonian powers, he couldn't afford to do anything else without risking his body. Next to him, Mera was forming various sharp weapons out of water to strike at Zod, but with his Kryptonian durability she was doing little damage.

"An abomination against true Kryptonians you may be, clone, but I must admit you are quite skilled," Zod commented as he wiped some blood off his lip, watching Kon do the same. "The idea of you succeeding Kal-El in the future is no longer so far-fetched."

"Wow. I'm glad to hear that. I'm so desperate for your approval, after all," Kon responded sarcastically.

"Cheeky little fool," Zod insulted back, before they clashed again.

Back at the battle between Aquaman and Manta, Jason watched desperately for an opening as the two arch-enemies continued to duel. The two men had elected to completely ignore him in favor of each other, and while Jason couldn't see the expression on Manta's face, he had a feeling it was no different from the snarl of hatred on Arthur's. He morphed one sword back into a stick and sheathed it, then drew out some batarangs with the other. _Come on, come on, give me something here!_

Ask and ye shall answer. Aquaman lost his footing thanks to a well-timed strike from Black Manta. Before Manta could stab down and finish him off, he was struck by three batarangs burying themselves into his suit. Aquaman took advantage of the opening and stabbed forward with his trident, shattering the helmet and instantly powering it off. Manta was forced to discard it, giving Arthur opportunity to blindside him and pin him down to the ground with his superior strength.

Arthur snarled in hatred as he glared down at his son's murderer. Manta ceased his struggling and smirked up at him, silently begging the other man to do it, to finally finish the job. They were locked together in that one moment, and no one else in the world existed.

"Aquaman."

The superhero turned his head to see Knight staring at him. Though he couldn't see the younger man's expression, he could feel the warning he was trying to express. Arthur glared at him, before scoffing, getting to his feet and lifting Manta up with him, holding him secure.

"Bind him, Knight," Aquaman ordered.

Gotham Knight nodded, before taking out a bola and tossing it. Arthur stepped away as the lines subdued his enemy, landing him back on the ground, completely bound. Before he could make a comment on his new state, Knight walked up to him and knocked him out with a kick to the head. "Now for the other one," he said, glancing at Arthur.

Back in the sky, Zod had Kon in a tight choke hold, one that Kon was trying to buck out of desperately. He continued elbowing Zod in the chest, causing the other man to grunt in pain, but even still, he held firm. At least until he felt sharp water pierce his back, distracting him and loosening the hold long enough for Kon to flip him over and slam him to the ground. Hard.

Zod moved to get up only to freeze as a green glow suddenly invaded the periphery of his sight. He began to seize, trying to shield himself, but the radiation was too strong, and soon he fell unconscious. On top of him, Kon winced, and let out a breath of relief after Jason finally closed the lead casing of the Kryptonite and stored it back into his belt. "Not as bad as it could have been," the hybrid commented, rubbing his arm as he got off of Zod's prone body.

"Probably because the Kryptonian-half of your DNA is still sealed," Jason noted.

"So what do we do with him?" Arthur asked as Mera landed to the ground next to him. "I doubt even you have restraints that could contain him."

"We'll call in Superman, he'll fly over to the Fortress and—"

Whatever Jason was about to say was cut off when a blast of green energy hit all four of them at the same time. They were sent reeling away from Zod, each landing into a heap on the ground. "What the—" Kon started, only to stop as the green energy encased Jason and him.

"Sorry," Hal Jordan said grimly, "but I need you two to come with me."

As the boys fruitlessly struggled to get out of the barrier, Arthur sat up and glared up at the sky. "HAL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

Hal glanced down at his old teammate. "What I need to."

There was another flash of green light, blinding Arthur and Mera. When it was gone, so were Hal, the boys, Black Manta, and Zod.

* * *

"So you think that Wallace's future self is going to travel back in time and merge his soul with my eleven year old nephew's," Iris summed up after Wally and Donna finished their explanation. The two winced.

"There's no guarantee it will happen, Iris, but considering that we now have four time travelers and it seems to be following that pattern, it's better to be safe than sorry," Donna elaborated with an apologetic tone.

Iris nodded, pursing her lips. "Well, it's a little bit more than what we're used to dealing with, but again, better safe than sorry. I'll let you two take him."

The former Titans let out a breath of relief. "Great," Wally said, "now where is he?"

"He's up in his room, actually. We got him a new car set and he's been building it all day." Donna adopted a fond smile upon hearing that; their Wallace, always the engineer.

Iris guided the two heroes up the stairs and to a room that had a bunch of car stickers on it. She knocked on the door once, twice, and then it was opened, revealing an African American boy wearing a yellow shirt, a jacket, and some pajama pants. He looked up at them curiously, before bursting into a smile. "Wally!" he chirped, before launching himself at the Flash.

Wally laughed as he caught the boy, taking a step back so he wouldn't topple over. "Hey there, scamp!"

"You didn't say you were going to visit today!" Wallace exclaimed happily, burying his head into his cousin's chest.

The speedster's grin faded. "Yeah, but…something came up. Something big."

Wallace's exuberance dimmed, along with his smile. "Is that why you're here?"

"Yeah, Wallace," Wally admitted reluctantly. "I'd like to introduce you to someone." He shifted the boy so he was facing Donna. "This is a good friend of mine, Donna Troy."

The middle schooler's eye bulged out. "You're Troia of the Titans! Wonder Woman's sister!"

Donna laughed as she crouched down so she was eye level with the boy. "Yes I am. It's good to meet you, Wallace. Your cousin Wally and Aunt Iris have told me much about you."

"Really?" Wallace sounded amazed.

"Yes," Donna confirmed, though her smile began to fade. "You see, Wallace, we have reason to believe you might be in danger. Wally and I are here to take you and your aunt to a safe place until that danger passes. Is that okay with you?"

Wallace tilted his head, but then nodded. "Okay. If you and Wally say so."

Donna grinned. "Great! Now, what do you need from your room—"

"Well, isn't this a nice family reunion?"

Almost immediately, the Amazon stood up and pushed Wallace behind her. The three adults whirled around to see the last thing _any_ of them wanted to see: a Reverse-Flash. _Hunter Zolomon?_ Donna immediately thought, remembering who had donned the costume during Wally's tenure as the Flash. But no — according to Jason, Hunter Zolomon had yet to be crippled by Gorilla Grodd in this timeline. So that left—

" _Thawne_ ," Wally snarled.

"You're supposed to be dead!" Iris shouted, shuddering. Little wonder why — Thawne had tried to kill her more than once, after all.

Thawne shrugged, holding up his hands in a 'what can you do' kind of way. "What can I say? Death never really stuck well with me, you know?"

"Why are you here, Thawne?" Wally demanded. It didn't matter how the bastard got here. What mattered was why he was here, and getting the bastard away from here.

The speedster smirked, and pointed directly at Donna. "For your friend, of course. Your cousin, too."

Almost immediately, Iris latched onto Wallace, glaring at her would-be murderer. "Stay away from him! He's not going anywhere with you!"

"I beg to differ," the man countered, red electricity flickering from his eyes.

"Donna," Wally said, eyes still on Thawne.

"I know," Donna told him, before turning to Iris and Wallace. "Grab onto me. We're getting out of here."

"But what about Wally?" Wallace asked, scared for his cousin. He had heard of Eobard Thawne before, knew him to be his Uncle Barry's enemy. None of the other members of the Flash family liked to talk about him, but Wallace knew enough to be scared for his cousin.

"Your cousin has the best chance out of all of us at beating him, Wallace," Donna responded with a gentle tone. "But if we stay here, we'll only be targets and distractions for Thawne to take advantage of. We need to go."

Slowly, Wallace nodded. Donna smashed a hole into the ceiling before grabbing Iris and him around the waists and flying them up into the sky. As soon as she did, she could spot yellow and red lightning beginning to race around Central City. "Sorry for that," Donna apologized to Iris as they flew towards the direction of Keystone City. "I needed to get us out of there quick and there was no other way."

"It's fine, Donna. Nothing Wally and the others can't fix in a jiffy."

They continued to fly through the sky, heading for the direction of Wally's house with Linda. Before they could reach it, however, they found themselves stopped again, this time by a barrier of green energy. Donna paled as Hal Jordan appeared into view, looking unnaturally grim. "Hal!" Iris shrieked, in surprise.

"Iris," Hal nodded. "It's been a long time."

"What are you doing, Hal?"

Hal frowned harder. "Forgive me, Iris, but I need Donna and your nephew to come with me. Please, don't resist — I don't want to hurt any of you."

"Hal—"

She was cut off before she could finish. Hal encased all three of them in a green sphere. Donna set down Iris and Wallace and tried to break it with her strength, but it was no use. Using his other hand, Hal separated Iris from Donna and Wallace and set her down on the ground, ignoring her shrieking and pounding as she was separated from her nephew, who might as well be her son. A scared Wallace pressed his hands against the green barrier, calling out for his aunt, while Donna continued to try and futilely break the dome. "Hal, no!" Donna yelled at her captor.

The former Green Lantern glanced at her, still grim. "I'm sorry," he apologized, before all three of them disappeared.

Iris screamed as she watched her nephew disappeared, wracked with sobs. A second later, she felt the tell-tale wind of a speedster's arrival, and felt a familiar pair of hands softly wrap around her. "Aunt Iris, it's okay, it's okay," Wally whispered, trying to comfort her.

"No, it's not," Iris denied. Her sobs had subsided, though there were still tears trailing down her cheeks, and her eyes were red. "Where's Thawne?"

"Gone. He bolted before we could really get into it," Wally explained, frowning. "Where are Wallace and Donna?"

"Hal took them," Iris answered glumly.

Wally's eyes widened before he cursed, slamming a hand into his forehead as his eyes screwed close. "Dammit."

* * *

"What happened!" Bruce demanded, slamming his hands onto the table. "Where is my son!"

"Taken by Hal," Arthur glanced at Kyle, who looked pensive, "Parallax, I mean. During our talk with Mera, the four of us were attacked by Black Manta and a Kryptonian Superboy called 'General Zod'."

Clark whipped his head up. "Zod? Are you sure?"

"Yes. According to Knight and Superboy, he's a criminal from the Phantom Zone. Are they correct?"

Superman nodded. "He was imprisoned there for trying to take over Krypton in a violent coup. I don't know how he got out, though."

"Neither did they. According to them he wasn't supposed to escape for at least another year." Clark grimaced upon hearing that.

"We're getting off-topic," Bruce gruffly cut them off. " _What happened?_ " It was not a request.

"Like I said, we were attacked. They destroyed my lighthouse, and we engaged them. I managed to subdue Manta with Knight's help, and together with Mera and Superboy, we helped take down Zod. We were discussing how we were going to restrain them when Parallax attacked. He took Knight and Superboy and vanished with them, along with Manta and Zod. Who knows where he took them."

"Did he say why he was taking them?" Diana asked, wringing her hands together nervously.

"No. Only that he was doing what he 'needed' to."

No one was lost at how ominous those words sounded.

"And Kaldur?" Kyle suddenly asked, drawing everyone's attention. "What about him?"

Arthur frowned. "Mera contacted his mother Sha'lain'a right after the battle. He was taken too."

Kyle tightened his hands into fists upon hearing that. "Dammit."

Suddenly, there was a _whoosh!_ as the Flash sped into the chamber, standing next to his chair and panting deeply. "Sorry I'm late. Something's happened."

Green Lantern stood up. "Where's Donna?"

Wally flinched.

"Don't tell me Wallace and her were taken too, Wally," Kyle said, sounding desperate.

"I'm sorry. Thawne — and before you I ask, I don't know how, time travel was probably involved — showed up at our house just as we were going to take Wallace with us. I sent Donna away with Iris and him while I fought Thawne, but then Parallax showed up—"

"—and he took Donna and Wallace with him," Kyle finished. "Just like he took Knight and Superboy."

"Them too?" Wally asked, gripping his chair tighter.

"Yes, along with Kaldur. And I think I know why we can't find M'gann now."

J'onn frowned. "She must have been the first one taken," the Martian agreed, the thought angering him. He had been looking forward to meeting another Martian, the girl that Kyle had told him he would one day call 'niece'.

Alan Scott crossed his arms. "They'll be coming after you next, Kyle. You realize that right?"

"I know," Kyle admitted, rubbing one of his temples. "And I'm scared of who they're going to send. If they're bringing in Zod and Thawne into this, then they might bring in Sinestro as well. Or maybe even someone worse."

"Well, whoever it is, we'll be ready for them," Bruce stated firmly. "Lantern, until we can locate the others and stop whoever took them, you're staying here at the Watchtower. I've already engaged the security protocols, so we should be safe for now."

"How are we going to locate them, though?" Plastic Man asked, stretching his neck upward and around.

"Easy," Kyle responded. "If there anywhere on Earth, then we can just find Knight through the tracker he implanted in his suit. It's standard Bat-Family practice."

There was a beat of silence as everyone stared at him, Batman in particular.

"Don't look at me like that, I've been working with Bats for years. Of course I know about that."

Clark glanced at his best friend. "Is this true, Batman?"

"Yes," Batman grunted. "Let me head to the monitor hub, I should be able to access the signal from there—"

And for the third time today, someone was cut off. The Watchtower began to shake, and everyone immediately tried to stand up, holding onto the table to steady themselves. Batman was grateful he had the foresight to weld the base of the circular table onto the floor, ensuring it wouldn't be sent flying, and thus, neither would them.

Anyone that could fly immediately did so and tried to exit the room for the monitor womb to figure out what was going on. However, before they could, the shaking stopped. Everyone tried to steady themselves for a moment, before quickly heading to the monitor womb anyway.

Naturally, Wally was the first one there and was already trying to access the outside feeds to see what was going on. He paled once the feed came into view, as did the rest of the JLA when they arrived as well. "Despero," Kyle cursed.

J'onn's red eyes glowed as his gaze settled on the image of his long-time enemy. This was not good at all. And if the recent happenings still held true, then they could only be here for one thing. The rest of the JLA and Alan Scott had realized the same, judging by the way they all began looking at Green Lantern.

"I am not going with him," Kyle hissed. "I'd rather burn." Beneath his visor, his eyes flashed red.

"You won't," Superman agreed. "We need to—"

And then, he was cut off too. By someone tearing off a hole into the side of the monitor womb. Quickly, Kyle and Alan wrapped the members of the JLA around in a protective domes, preventing them from being sucked into the recesses of space and suffocating. Together, they flew out of the hole with the JLA, and face off against Despero.

The Kanalorian had a sick smile on his face as he leveled a gun at them. Kyle was about to shout at Alan, tell him to take the JLA with him back to Earth while Kyle held Despero off, only for there to be another flash of green light. _Parallax_ , Kyle thought, tensing.

"Kyle, do not resist," Parallax intoned. "Please, just come with us and no one else has to be harmed. You know that you can't take us both on — not without having to protect _them_." He gestured to the JLA.

"Maybe not, but I can certainly hold you off long enough to allow us to escape to a more suitable battlefield," Kyle replied, already merging his dome with Alan's. A look at his mentor told him that the first Green Lantern knew exactly what Kyle was planning. Immediately, it was only Alan protecting all of the JLA, leaving Kyle free to confront their two enemies.

The young Lantern lifted up his ring, ready to form a construct, when Parallax suddenly held out his hand. Immediately, a dome formed, and a young woman appeared inside it, surprised and distressed. She was a fairly attractive woman, with blond hair and green eyes.

"Kyle!" she screamed.

Kyle froze, and paled.

" _Alex_ ," he whispered.

It had been years — so many years. But she was there, alive and breathing and not dead and stuffed into a fridge by the psychotic, sadistic, murderous piece of shit called Major Force. Kyle's heart started beating erratically; even years after he had moved on, he had never been able to completely let go of the woman before him. Every lover he had ever had always had to measure up to Alexandra DeWitt, even Soranik. To his shame, it held true even now.

"I was told you lost her the first time," Parallax's voice echoed in Kyle's ears, piercing through the trance he had undergone upon seeing his living Lenore. "If you do not come with me now, you will lose her again. Are you willing to risk that?"

"No," Kyle said breathlessly, "NO! Don't hurt her!"

"Then a trade. Your life for hers."

Kyle stared longingly at Alex, his eyes flashing violet under his visor, before he shook his head to clear it and glare at the mockery of his predecessor. "Only if I have your word that once you have me, both the JLA and her will be allowed to go free and won't be harmed by you or the asshole with the gun."

Hal tilted his head. "Very well then. You have my word."

The exchange was quick. Neither of them were willing to risk the other reneging on the deal. As soon as Alex was safely encased in Alan's bubble with the JLA, Kyle was encased in his own by Parallax. He only had a moment to lock eyes with Alex one last time, before he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, because I wanted to use _Young Justice_ Kaldur, I had to mix up his background a bit so it would make sense. I mostly blended his YJ and New 52/Rebirth origins together, with some elements of his original origin from Post-Crisis. I hope it made sense to you.
> 
> I also made some edits in the previous chapter to straighten out things with Wallace, such as his current physical age.
> 
> Next chapter: it all comes to a boil.


	15. Era 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the first time in fifteen years, the First Council of Era 2 are together again.
> 
> It’s not the ideal reunion any of them envisioned.

With the Watchtower compromised and Titans Tower still in repair, the JLA had been bussed over to the JSA headquarters in Civic City to use their systems instead. Almost immediately, an alert was sent out to every active hero on the planet via a contact to Oracle about the situation. All of them were scrambling to search for the missing heroes, to find some sign of what happened to them.

Batman in particular was using the JSA's systems to re-route the Bat-Computer's tracking program through them, hoping to find his son through that method. Unfortunately, it proved to be fruitless — the tracker wasn't picking up. Either Jason and the others weren't on earth, or someone had discovered the tracker and had managed to either destroy it or block its signal.

After two hours of futilely searching, Batman slammed his fists into a nearby table before collapsing into his seat. "Dammit. Dammit!"

"Batman, enough!" Diana said, trying to calm her friend. "Throwing a tantrum is not going to find them any faster!"

"We should've kept a closer eye on them, we should've pushed for more information. If we had, we might have been able to prevent this!" Bruce ranted, shrugging away her comforting hands. "Now, they're God knows where with a possessed Hal Jordan and a number of supervillains, probably being tortured right now information!"

"Are we really sure about that, though?" Clark asked, worried in his own right but still keeping his head on straight — or at least, straighter than his best friend. "Somehow, Parallax knew about who he needed to pick up. He knew about how Alex DeWitt had been killed in the previous timeline, enough to use her to manipulate Kyle into going with him. Meaning that whoever is pulling his strings already knows about all the changes to the timeline."

Diana frowned. "Not to mention the fact that they picked up Wallace and Kaldur'ahm, even though those two had yet to show any signs of traveling back like the others. That suggests they knew, or at least suspected, that they would be coming back as well. Either we have a mole, which I highly doubt, or—"

"Whoever kidnapped them already knows about the other timeline. More than likely, is _from_ that timeline," Bruce concluded grimly, collecting himself as the pieces fell into place. "They might very well be the person that has been sending them back to this time in the first place."

"But if that's the case, why?" Clark wondered. "Even considering the butterfly effect, in the end sending back a bunch of experienced superheroes is only going to benefit _us_ , not them. If Kon and the others are anything like us, they would rather die then give up the kind of information they probably have to our enemies. It would be too risky otherwise. So what's the motive for sending them back and then kidnapping them?"

"A personal one."

The Amazon and the Kryptonian glanced at their mortal friend. "You mean…revenge?"

"Jason suggested the possibility to me, during one of our discussions over the situation after Kon-El traveled back," Bruce stated grimly. "Initially, we dismissed it. It seemed too…petty at the time. We were looking for some grand plot or narrative to all this. Jason even seemed intent on it after Rayner came back. I watched a conversation between the four of them that suggested there was something about Rayner that villains might try to take advantage of."

"Did they say what that was?"

"No. All four knew I was watching and talked around it. They probably didn't want me to draw on wrong conclusions with incomplete information." Bruce laced his fingers together, adopting a thinking pose. "Again, they seemed to believe that Rayner's appearance meant there was some nefarious plot to all this. But then the kidnappings happened, and with the conclusions we've drawn from that, it's becoming more unlikely there is some great goal in mind. Or if there is, it's one that we can't divine for ourselves."

"Meaning that if we can't figure out the motive, we can't find _them_ ," Clark finished. "If only they had told us more information about their pasts, futures, whatever, we might have been able to do something. But they've been so cagey about everything, and we let them be because we felt sorry for them." He threw a hand into the air. "And now, here we are."

"I know how you feel, Clark, but what good would it do?" Diana crossed her arms. "It's not like they traveled back a couple of months — they traveled back _decades_. Many of the things they know, the freshest events in their minds, won't be relevant for several years. It's very possible that the enemy responsible for this is someone they didn't think would be a problem for a long time."

Clark pinched his nose. "Like Zod. And then he showed up anyway."

"We can ruminate and correct our mistakes later," Bruce said with finality. "What matters is that we find them _now_."

"But how? We don't have any alternative sources of information!"

Bruce opened his mouth, but then stopped, a thoughtful look crossing his face. He abruptly stood up and returned to the computer, going through a number of channels before he managed to contact the Bat-Computer again. Tim Drake, in full Robin uniform, appeared on the screen. In the background behind him, he could see Cass and Stephanie bustling about, no doubt running their own investigation into the kidnapping.

" _Batman_ ," his sidekick greeted him stoically.

"Robin. Is Knight's laptop still in the Manor?"

Tim stiffened. " _It should be. Why?_ "

"I need you to hack into it. To collect all the information inside and analyze it for any clue to his location."

" _He_ _'s not going to like that._ "

"He can yell at me for it when he gets back," Bruce replied stubbornly.

His son sighed. " _Fine. But I don_ _'t know how long it'll take to get in and download the data. Depending on how much he beefed up the security, I may need Oracle's help for this._ " Jason might not be as good at computers as his siblings, but he was skilled nonetheless and he came from a time where coding had advanced significantly. It wouldn't be remiss to suppose he had picked up some tricks that would stump even two of the greatest hackers in the world today.

"Do whatever it takes, Robin. Your brother's life may depend on it."

* * *

It had only been a couple of hours, and already Kyle hated this place.

The moment he had arrived, he had been separated from his ring and was bound head-to-toe by what one his captors had called depleted promethium. Kyle, very familiar with that material, didn't bother trying to struggle out of it and instead had tried to will his ring to him. Apparently, they had been prepared for that as well, as he had gotten a shock as soon as he had tried. _How_ they had managed to sense his attempt to will his ring over was beyond Kyle, but he was smart enough not to rock the boat and try again.

He wasn't the only one there. The others were there too. Donna was similarly bound in promethium-based power dampeners, deprived of her lasso. Kon was in a similar state, though he was being bathed in red solar energy. They didn't bother with anything special for Jason beyond taking his utility belt and weapons — other than gagging him, which Kyle had to admit was a smart precaution. Jason could be just as dangerous with his words as he was with his fists or any other weapon or gadget. Kyle had seen him destroy enough organizations with a speech or two to guarantee it.

And then there were the children. It had been four years since he had seen Wallace, four years since his friend's death, but he would recognize the boy's younger self anywhere. Even more so for Kaldur, who had been alive when Kyle had died. The other boy _had_ to be him — the tattoos and the shock of golden hair against his dark skin all but confirmed it.

The worst part is that they looked _young_. Wallace was eleven, according to Wally, and Kaldur couldn't be much older than him. And to see them bound like that, frightened and scared and clearly confused about what was going on, enraged Kyle. If he had access to his ring, he was sure his eyes would be flashing red.

They stayed in that room, that prison, for God knows how long, before they found it shifting away to reveal a throne room, where there was an entire lineup of some _very_ familiar supervillains watching them warily. He could just _feel_ Jason groan from his imprisonment, and could only empathize. They had been through this bullshit way too many times for it not to feel exhaustingly routine, regardless of the time period. Kyle was not impressed in the least, and he could tell that neither were any of his friends.

At least until another shift happened. Some kind of hidden trapdoor in the center of their little open-air prison opened up and ascended something on a pedestal. It was some kind of white pastiche of a xenomorph, similarly bound like them, but with a ring of fire around it. It took a second for Kyle to realize who it was, though Jason struggling and yelling through his gag helped.

_M_ _'gann._ Kyle thought, both horrified and relieved. So they were all here now.

_How do you know my name?_ A familiar voice, younger but unmistakably M'gann, asked.

_It_ _'s a long story,_ Kyle replied over the telepathic bond. _Can you bring in the others as well?_

M'gann felt nervous over the bond, but she did as he asked. Almost immediately, Kyle could feel that familiar meld of their minds, reminding him of times long gone by. It wasn't quite the same, he could tell that Wallace and Kaldur were freaking out over being telepathically bonded to what were essentially a bunch of strangers, all of whom older than them, but — still.

_Oh thank God,_ Jason, of course, is the first one to say anything, _I was going out of mind out there! I want to cuss out everyone over there so badly_ _—_

_No, Jason,_ And there's Donna, ever the voice of reason, especially with the man she loved. _As tempting as that would be, it_ _'s just asking for trouble. And you're gagged anyway, so all you would be doing is wasting air._

_Okay, who_ _'s here?_ Kon was scanning the throne room for all the villains. _Can_ _'t see Parallax. Zod, ugh. Thawne, Manta, is that Cheetah_ and _Circe? Oh great. And yup, Doctor Psycho, sorry about that Don. Who else, who else_ _— wow, even the Flash Rogues are here. Must be a lot of cash involved there. And I think that_ _'s Orm, wonder how they managed to convince him to show up, he hates humans. Despero, wonderful. And…ah hell._

_What is it, Kon?_

_Now, Kyle, don_ _'t get mad, but I think that's Sinestro over there in the corner._

_WHAT!_ Kyle diverted his eyes to the left corner of the room, and yup, there was Sinestro with his Qwardian yellow ring. The Green Lantern snarled. He might have married Sinestro's daughter and fathered his grandson, but that didn't mean he had grown to like the bastard. Tolerated, more like it, and vice versa. Sinestro, after all, had done a great number of terrible things to him that he could _never_ forgive, and Kyle had very much done the same to him. _I_ _'m gonna kill him._

_Kyle_ _…_ And now all three of them were admonishing him. Kyle resisted the urge to snort. Like they were ones to talk.

_Fine. I won_ _'t kill him. But I'm_ definitely _going to maim him._

A mental shrug. _That_ _'s fair. Hey, Kon. Any Gotham Rogues?_

_Let me see, let me see_ _…Two-Face, Penguin — so yeah, lot of cash involved — Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Bane, Riddler—_

_What the hell? I just put that one back in Arkham like a month ago!_

_Jay, remember what time period we_ _'re in? Arkham is a revolving door right now._

Don't _remind me._ He sounded so put out, and who could blame him?

_On the bright side, no Luthor. And no Joker. At least not at first glance. It seems whoever is responsible was smart enough to keep him out of this._

_I wouldn_ _'t be too sure about that._ Donna sounded worried. _Remember when Luthor Jr. decided to exclude Joker from the Secret Society?_

There was a collective wince. _Yeah. According to Clark, finding his body like that was_ not _fun._

_Or the Arkham Massacre._ Jason mentally grunted. _I may hate most of these assholes, but I sure as hell don_ _'t want to see them all die horribly like that again. Croc and Dent especially._

_Well, at least some of these people outstrip the Joker in power enough for that to be a non-issue._ Donna pointed out optimistically.

_He_ _'ll find a way. He always does._

_Okay, we_ _'ve been staying quiet for a while now, but what are you guys all talking about?_ And there was Wallace.

_Agreed. You surface-dwellers are_ _…strange._ Kaldur. Still hasn't been to the surface yet. Great.

_This is not what I expected when I melded our minds. This planet is strange. Could you please tell me who you people are?_ Poor, innocent, M'gann.

_Well, you see_ _—_

_BZZT!_

The feeling of being shocked echoed throughout the bond and broke the mind meld almost immediately. There was another collective wince and even a whimper from the children. They were not used to such pain.

"It's quite rude to have a mental conversation in front of others, you know. That is telepathic etiquette, and I know for a fact that hasn't changed much over the years."

The voice was deep but sophisticated. A British accent. And very, _very_ familiar.

_Fuck_ , was the collective thought of the four time travelers. And now, suddenly a lot of things made a hell of a lot more sense.

Vandal Savage stepped into view, looking smug and satisfied and even more full of himself than usual. He walked past the wall of supervillains before turning around to face all seven his prisoners. The smug look morphed into a crazed, triumphant smirk, that just screamed of how long he had been waiting for this moment.

"The Era 2 Justice League, at long last," he intoned, brimming with relish. "Do you realize how many years it's been for me?"

M'gann, Wallace, and Kaldur all stared at him in confusion. The other four glared. Jason even started yelling through his gag. Savage eyes flickered to him, and if anything, his smirk widened. "Ah, Batman. Always so chatty and irreverent when out of the suit."

That seemed to enrage Jason even more, and he started to pointlessly struggle in his bonds in hopes of breaking the promethium so he could strangle Savage. Savage then dismissed him with another glance, settling on the confused and scared children. "Now this, however, won't do. I was planning to wait until you were all sent back, but I was starting to get impatient."

"You, impatient?" Donna sounded understandably incredulous. "You're a fifty thousand-year old cave man. Patience is one of your greatest virtues."

"You try being patient after being stranded in an isolated pocket dimension in that hell called the Phantom Zone for thirty thousand years!" Savage snapped back.

"So you _are_ still holding a grudge against us for that," Kon voiced victoriously.

Savage gave him a look. "Wouldn't you?"

The time travelers thought that over for a moment.

"Yeah."

"True."

"That's fair."

Even Jason gave a conceding nod.

"See? Now then," his eyes flickered over the remaining three captives, "to deal with this."

He waved his hand, and an all-too familiar glow began to blossom from three different sources. It was brighter, much brighter than the other three times, probably because this was happening all at once. An eternity, and then—it was gone.

Leaving three no longer-terrified children, but rather three very confused pre-adolescents. Almost absentmindedly, M'gann re-established the telepathic bond between the seven of them. A force of habit. _What_ _—_

_Time travel._ Four mental voices, all familiar, all thought lost. M'gann would have time to dwell on it later. This was more important.

_Well that bones._ Wallace grumbled.

_I retire for two years, have a nice peaceful death via heart attack, and wake up as a teenager imprisoned by a cannibalistic immortal cave man surrounded by my living dead teammates._ Kaldur sighed. _Why did I listen to Queen Atlanna and become Aquaman again?_

_Cause you_ _'re her bitch._

_Wallace!_

_It_ _'s true!_

_Scratch that. The real question I should be asking is why I am friends with all of you._

_**BZZT!** _

"Again, it is rude to have a mental conversation in front of other people when they are trying to talk to you."

"Blah, blah, we don't care man!" Wallace shouted back, still wincing from the impromptu shock. "You made me a midget again! A _midget_! Why!"

Savage grinned, well, savagely. "For revenge, of course. Haven't you been listening?"

"So we dumped you in the Phantom Zone — what about it? What else did you expect us do with you after the stunt you pulled!"

"Kill me!" Savage pointed to Jason. "It's not like that one didn't have the means at the time!"

Jason started gagging. He had tried to stick out his tongue at Savage and failed because he was gagged. It was a childish gesture, but he was all out of fucks to give. He was in a teenager's body, he could act like a teenager if he wanted to.

"He didn't want to. Get over it." Kaldur was entirely unsympathetic. He always had been the biggest hardass of them all, even more so than Jason. "You're immortal, so we gave you a punishment fitting for an immortal who has committed as many atrocities as you have. Especially that last stunt you tried to pull."

Kon shuddered. "I didn't even know the human body could twist so many ways."

"It was a very creative and very disturbing plot, Vandal," Donna noted. "Definitely a new one for all of us."

Jason was still gagging. Savage got sick of it and used his magic to pull the gag out, allowing the vigilante to breathe. "Holy mother of—why the hell did you put that in my mouth!"

"I would think the answer was obvious, Batman."

"I'm not that bad!"

Everyone gave him a look.

"Okay, I am that bad," Jason admitted. "But still!"

"I think we're getting off-topic!" M'gann interjected before any more can be said. "Back to the matter at hand — _why_ did you send us back in time, Savage? What manner of revenge could you get from all this?"

Savage returned to grinning. "What makes you think you were sent back in time?"

There was a pause.

"Okay, so dimensional travel. Alternate universe." It took only a second for Jason to figure it out, because this was hardly the first time. Nor the last, most likely. "Why here? Why this universe?"

"It's a universe I made," Savage revealed. "A clone of the original, wound back in time — with a couple of modifications to the timeline, as you can probably figure out yourself. And then, I used my powers to send your souls here, merging them with your counterparts', all for the sake of my revenge."

Another period of silence.

"Are you trying to tell me," Jason inhaled deeply, his voice deathly calm and subdued, "that you somehow managed to harness enough magical energy to clone the universe, and send our souls to this universe, and merge us with our counterparts here… and you used it for petty revenge?"

"Yes." Savage sounded completely unashamed.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!" The Bat sounded downright apoplectic. "Do you have _any_ idea what you could do with that kind of power? You could cure cancer! End world hunger! Remake the universe to be a place with no tragedy like Parallax wanted!"

"Actually," Kyle said, with a thoughtful look on his face. "Now that you mention it, Batman, that kind of explains a lot. Is that how you got Parallax to work for you Savage?"

Jason ignored the question, continuing to rant, until he was gagged again. He grew red in the face as he continued to scream.

"Yes, Lantern," Savage confirmed to Kyle. "And for the record, Batman, I am allowed to be that petty because I am eighty thousand years old. Your infantile ideas of morality do not apply to me." He ignored the glare Jason shot him, as he removed the gag once more.

"Now then, I guess you're wondering how this world is intended to punish all of you."

"Well, that and why you have a peanut gallery of all our greatest hits over there." Kyle used his head to gesture to the supervillains.

Donna frowned. "They're being oddly quiet."

"Yes, well, they didn't know what to think of all of you. They didn't really believe me at first when I told them of you."

"So they're trying to figure us out."

"Yes. Do you wish to speak to them?"

"No."

"Fuck no."

"Yeah, screw that."

"I believe that would not be the best course of action."

"I'm pretty sure if I tried to speak to Sinestro I'd try to murder him within a couple of minutes."

"If I spoke to Thawne I'd _definitely_ try to murder him, starting with breaking both his legs, and that would be the least of what I'd do."

"No thank you, Vandal. Can you continue on with the explanation?"

"Always so polite, Wonder Woman. You always were the easiest to deal with of this lot. Much unlike your younger years."

Donna smiled sharply. "Well, we all mature and grow, don't we?"

Savage chuckled. "Indeed. Very well, if you must know, your 'greatest hits' are here to both hold off the inevitable army of superheroes that will be coming to your aid and to watch the fireworks. And as for why _you_ _'re_ here…well, tell me, what's so different about this world from this one?"

"The timeline is fucked up," Wallace bluntly responded. "I know because I'm a speedster and this is hardly the first time." Because Flashpoint. Nobody was ever going to let go of Flashpoint. _Wallace_ was never going to let go of Flashpoint, and when he saw Uncle Barry again he was gonna kick his ass so badly—!

Oh, wait. Uncle Barry was still 'dead' in this timeline.

_I hate time travel._

"Yes, but _how_ is it fucked up?" And it was weird to hear Vandal Savage of all people like that. He was usually more…eloquent, with his words.

"Hal is still Parallax."

"Other than that."

"My youngest brother is now ten years younger than me instead of six."

"That too."

"Arrowette is still part of Young Justice?"

"And that as well." Savage paused. "Well, of a sorts."

Jason narrowed his eyes at him. "Our loved ones are alive. Not just those who died in the future, but those who died now."

Savage grinned again. " _Yes_."

Everyone else blinked at him. "Okay, and how the hell is that supposed to torture us?" Wallace demanded.

"Isn't it obvious, Flash? I _wanted_ you to feel happy. I wanted you to feel the triumph of helping them, of saving them. I wanted you all to believe that you could make a better future for them than the one you came from, one where they could all survive and have the happy endings you so desperately want for them. I wanted you to feel all that…" And here, Savage's teeth glinted viciously. "So I could rip it away from you. So I can make you watch them die again, and again, and again, and _again._ "

And just like that, the atmosphere died away.

The surrounding supervillains were immediately slammed with some of the worst killing intent they had ever felt in their entire lives. Even for the kind of people they were, it was a bit… _much_. Especially considering it was coming from what were allegedly a bunch of superheroes. A few glanced at said heroes, and cringed, shying away from the sight.

Each and every single one of them were glaring murderously at Savage. Even Green Lantern, who eyes were hidden beneath a visor, looked completely menacing. A few looked ready to break out of their bonds just to kill the bastard, right then and there, regardless of the inevitable fallout of having to deal with the retaliation of the present supervillains.

"I'll kill you," Jason stated, completely serious and devoid of any humorous anger, just sheer rage. It was telling that not a single one of his teammates rebuked him for it.

Savage tilted his head. "If you had done that the first time around, we wouldn't be here, now would we? But no, Batman, you aren't going to kill me. None of you are going to kill me." His grin was absolutely gleeful. "But you _are_ going to kill someone. A lot of someones, in fact."

"What do you mean by that—"

A hand stopped them. And then another glow.

Unlike the first one, this one was dark, almost black in color. And painful, judging by all the screams that came from the prisoners. The supervillains watched the aura grew larger and larger, swallowing up everyone, until…

It faded away. Everyone stared. Savage stepped away, waving his hand once more. Almost immediately, the restraints dropped, and the smoke cleared. People gasped at the new appearances of the prisoners. The immortal turned around, smirking, as his new forces moved to surround him protectively.

"My friends," he addressed the villains present, "I'd like you to meet our new comrades, and one of the greatest superhero teams of all time: the Era 2 Justice League!"

* * *

" _Oracle and I finally managed to hack into Knight_ _'s laptop,_ " Robin announced to his father.

"Did you find any clues to his whereabouts?" Batman asked his son.

" _None so far. It seems Knight was more focused on the more immediate events of the next couple of years,_ " Robin hesitated for a moment, " _I read some of them. They were quite_ _…_ disturbing."

Batman frowned. "I see. I'll discuss it with him when he gets back. Anything else?"

" _He_ did _make a file containing possible non-lethal containment measures for various high-class criminals he felt he had no chance of reformation. Many of them I don_ _'t recognize, but there are a few I do._ " He typed something onscreen. " _Here._ "

A number of files appeared on the screen, and were also piped through to Batman's personal tablet, so he could take a closer look at them. He fingered through every file, his frown deepening. Tim was right — there were a number of people he didn't recognize, and it would take far too long to track them all down and see what they were up to, see any differences in their behavior. Even so, it would still be important to look into them.

So any he didn't recognize, he separated into another folder, and prioritized those he did. He immediately marked down Thawne, Manta, Zod, and Despero — while they weren't completely out of the woods yet, there was no indication they were anything more than lackeys for the real mastermind. That left Luthor (still President, too risky an endeavor for him, not to mention dead before Era 2 even began), the Joker (who was, quite frankly, too insane and impulsive for this kind of thing, and the current one had also been dead before Era 2 began), Johnny Sorrow (doubtful — that one tended to focus on the JSA), and… Vandal Savage.

Bruce paused at that one. There was a feeling in his gut, one that appeared whenever he was onto something for a case. A hunch. He quickly scanned the file on Savage, flinching when he read the last major plot Savage devised before he was imprisoned by the Era 2 Justice League (even Bruce didn't know the human body could twist that many ways). Apparently, because Jason wasn't willing to kill Savage with the Balance at the time — something Bruce approved of heartily — but also didn't want to risk an immortal and completely morally-depraved caveman running around trying to pull that kind of scheme again, the League imprisoned Savage in a separate pocket dimension in the Phantom Zone. Where he had stayed, until Jason had died, and according to further amendments, he was still there when Donna had died as well.

Meaning, that he could've stayed there for a long time after all of the initial council of Era 2 were dead. After all, he was already immortal, and the Phantom Zone rendered sleep, sustenance, and air completely unnecessary, so he wouldn't suffer needlessly. In fact, the only real punishment to this was stuffing him into a separate pocket dimension, effectively isolating him from the other prisoners and preventing them from plotting a potential escape. The forced solitude of so many years would drive even a man as long-lived as Vandal Savage insane. Bruce would even call it cruel, if he wasn't aware of the countless atrocities the man had committed over the course of his long life.

Say Savage did stay there for a long time. But then was released, either by finally figuring out a way to escape or by accident. By the time he did so, anyone who had even the slightest of bonds with him would be long dead. He would be even more insane than he originally was. And, as an immortal, he would have a different kind of morality, especially regarding the value of life. The normal human lifespan was practically a short breeze to Savage, ephemeral and meaningless. Pointless.

And with that kind of perception, it would be remarkably easy to adopt a petty mindset. A mindset that would allow him to, say, somehow find a way to send the souls of his worst enemies, his original jailers, back in time. Allow them the chance to reunite with lost loved ones, bring them hope of creating a better future. Give them that hope…and then crush it, breaking them.

It was a theory. Conjecture, really. Still…

"Robin. Could you track down the last known sightings of Vandal Savage since his defeat at the hands of the Titans months ago?"

* * *

"I believe I know who took them."

After analyzing Savage's movements and coordinating them with the movements of the various villains involved with the kidnappings, Bruce immediately called a meeting with the JSA and JLA. They had all been lounging around, tracking down potential sightings and movements of those missing, but had no luck. Now, hope blossomed within them — there was a lead!

"Who?" Clark asked, crossing his arms.

"Vandal Savage."

There was a deep inhale. Both teams had fought Savage a countless number of times. An immortal caveman with immorality to match his, quite frankly, insanely long life-span, he was a danger to the world that few could match. He had been content to stay in the background of more prominent villains such as Lex Luthor or the now-deceased Ra's al Ghul, as his interest in world domination had largely been driven by his boredom, but there was no question of the true threat level he posed.

"What makes you believe it's Savage, Batman?" Wonder Woman asked.

"I hacked into Gotham Knight's personal computer—"

He ignored the looks he got for that. Jason was his son and a former Batman; he'd understand.

"—and found a file containing a number of villain profiles, along with nonlethal methods of containing them. While we're currently tracking down those we weren't able to recognize based on the information inside them, I took a look on those we _did_ recognize and sifted through them. Out of all of them, Savage was the most likely to be the culprit. According to Knight's file on him, he was still alive when Era 2 began and had in fact been imprisoned by the council themselves after a particularly heinous plot."

Arthur looked skeptical. "What kind of plot?"

Bruce winced, which wasn't lost on anyone present. Silently, he pulled up the document, highlighting the passage in Savage's profile. Everyone quickly read it, and collectively blanched.

"How in the hell can the human body twist in so many ways?" Wally sounded distressed.

"I have to admit — and this is coming from me — that's kind of sick," Plastic Man commented, looking a bit green around the gills.

Martian Manhunter frowned. "I do hope he was punished for that."

"He was. The council sealed him within a pocket dimension inside the Phantom Zone, effectively isolating him from the other prisoners and leaving him alone in there for who knows how many years. According to the file, he was sealed at the beginning of Era 2 and was still inside there by the time Troy died. That would be at _least_ twenty-four years."

A mutual cringe. "Savage is an absolutely deplorable person, but that's probably too cruel a punishment, even for him," Jay Garrick said, taking off his helmet to scratch the back of his head.

"Perhaps so. Depending on how long he was in there, he would have reason to hold a massive grudge against them upon his release. And the time and knowledge to plot his revenge."

Steel narrowed his eyes. "You're talking as if you already know, for sure, it was him."

Bruce sighed, and pulled up some more data. "I had Robin and Oracle track down Savage's last known movements ever since his last defeat at the hands of the Titans. Coincidentally, he's been busing around the known haunts of several prominent supervillains, including Black Manta. And, if we postulate that he is also from the future like our missing heroes, then—"

"—he would know how to release Zod from the Phantom Zone. He could find a way to contact Despero," Clark finished.

"And Thawne," Wally added. "He would know a way to revive him too."

"It's all circumstantial and conjecture. There is no guarantee, but…"

Alan Scott frowned. "But it's the best lead we've got thus far. Do we know Savage's last known location?"

The screen changed again, revealing a map of Infinity Island. "Here. The island was destroyed years ago during one of my first encounters with Ra's, but he later returned to it and rebuilt what was left as another base for the League of Assassins. It was abandoned almost immediately after his death, but recently there's been activity on the island that does not trace back to what remains of Ra's al Ghul's organization. And…" A picture blew up on the screen, showing what was clearly Savage boarding a plane. "…Savage was last seen boarding a plane, heading towards the direction of the Indian Ocean. The plane never landed at its supposed destination, but it disappeared near the coordinates of Infinity Island."

"Well then, let's go get them!" A cheer rang out.

And stopped, when Batman held out his hand. "Wait. Considering the last movements of Savage, we have reason to believe that there are several more supervillains that will be present there, instead of just those involved in the initial kidnappings. Not to mention Parallax."

"We need to make a plan first. We can't just go barging in like that — who knows what we'll be facing?"

"But Rayner, Troy, and the kids—"

"—are alive, for the time being. Savage wouldn't gone through so much effort to send them back and then kidnap them just to kill them immediately." Bruce inhaled deeply. "We have time."

"Yes, we do," Diana agreed. "But how much?"

Nobody had an answer for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, the truth has been revealed. This isn't an alternate timeline but an alternate universe, meaning that Terry and the others do in fact still exist and are still living their lives elsewhere. All the people we've seen thus far are actually just doppelgangers of the originals.
> 
> This is going to be the last chapter for a while. I burned through my lead, so that means another pause while I build it up again. In the mean time, you can read my other stories, re-read this series, or even just update the TV Tropes page (both character and main page — which has a link at the start of the story). Whatever you want.
> 
> Next chapter: Things heat up.


	16. The Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The JLA and the JSA bring in the Titans for their as rescue mission.
> 
> Which then gets held hostage.
> 
> By Young Justice.

Bruce wanted to blame Jason.

He did. He honestly did. It would be just so _easy_ to blame his second son for this.

But, truth be told, this wasn't Jason's fault. Jason didn't ask to die God knows how many times. Jason didn't ask to be sent back in time. Jason didn't ask to be kidnapped. Jason didn't ask for any of that.

No, if anyone was to blame it was the Joker, for killing Jason. Or Bruce, for being completely unable to handle loss in a constructive and healthy manner (which should've been obvious from the get-go, seeing as his way of channeling his grief over his parents' deaths was to run around in a batsuit, beating up criminals every night). If it hadn't been for either of those things, he wouldn't be in this situation.

"Robin, no," he groaned, and fuck Batman's reputation, he'd just about had it with these past couple of weeks. "Neither you, nor your Young Justice teammates, are coming on this mission."

Tim, his beloved third son, stared back at him stonily. "Yes, we are."

"No, you're not. I forbid you."

"So?"

Bruce closed his eyes, and started counting to fifty. In Japanese. "I am your father. That means my word is law until you're eighteen."

"Then I guess I'll be a criminal in my own home."

"Knight would never forgive you if you or Batgirl went."

"Knight's not here right now, is he? In fact, it's _because_ he's not here right now that we're in this situation to begin with."

"Robin—"

"You're letting Nightwing and the Titans go!"

"Because Nightwing's an adult and so are the Titans, all of whom by themselves have years of more experience than you and your team _combined_. Robin, this mission will be _dangerous_. Who knows how many villains are on Infinity Island right now? All of them will be aiming to kill, and there's no guarantee we'll be able to protect all of you if it comes to that."

"And we wouldn't expect you to, Batman! We're heroes too, remember?"

Yes, they were. They were heroes with their own team and their own missions, and, at the time, Bruce had thought that was okay. That they had proven themselves able to handle that, that they were smart enough to recognize when they were in over their head and to call in backup when they needed to. But this…this was too much. If it really was Savage, then a look at who he had been visiting made him want to lock up the kids in the Bat-Cave until all of this was over. The Joker was one thing, but at least the Joker didn't have superpowers or massive amounts of resources or _both_.

The worst of the worst were going to be there. Major villains from the rogues galleries of every major hero in the Justice League. From Circe to the Trickster, Orm to Bane (Bruce felt phantom pain tingle up his spine at the thought of that one) — it was not going to be pretty. He was already hesitant to bring Nightwing, only conceding because Dick was almost as good as he was. He didn't want to bring Tim and Cass in it as well, especially since the latter had only just started her vigilante career, no matter how naturally talented at combat she was. Jason wouldn't forgive them, nor would he forgive _him_. Bruce imagined the only reason he hadn't gotten a tongue lashing for bringing Cass on the rescue mission all those months ago is because of the guilt he had for killing Ra's.

There would be no such guilt for this mission.

"I know you're all heroes too. Which is why I'm saying no. Why we're all saying no. That's final, Robin."

The final word said, Bruce turned off the monitor. The last thing he saw was Tim's fuming face.

* * *

But of course, Tim is every bit his son as Dick and Jason were before him. When the JLA and JSA head to their hidden bay of backup Javelins beneath Civic City (there was one in every major city with a strong superhero presence), they were met by Young Justice. Plus Batgirl. And Stargirl. Who had also been banned from going on the mission.

In Impulse's hands were some very familiar fuel rods and wires.

Bruce felt a headache coming on.

"Fine," he barked to his children, "But you're grounded when we get home!"

Tim and Cass exchanged looks and then shrugged. Their teammates, not being Batman's children, cared even less, and instead laughed.

* * *

Infinity Island was a remote island located in the Indian Ocean. Small enough to be inconspicuous and yet large enough to support a large garrison of Ra's al Ghul's forces through slave labor, it had served as his enemy's main League outpost for centuries. At least, until Bruce blew the place up over a decade ago after facing off against Ra's during one of their first great confrontations. A person could say that it was here where their rivalry truly started, and only ended when one of Bruce's own sons did what he couldn't and finished the immortal off. While Bruce would always be uncomfortable with the fact that Jason killed Ra's, he wouldn't lie and say he wasn't glad the man was gone. After everything Ra's had done during that last battle, after learning everything that Ra's would go on to do in the future had he been left alive, when Bruce had taken his last look at the man's cooling corpse, he couldn't help but think 'Good riddance'.

That opinion held true even now. Knowing what they were about to get into, Bruce was very, _very_ glad Ra's was dead. Jason and him had both been monitoring the League of Assassins very closely ever since the man's death, not wanting a repeat of the previous timeline, where they had let things be and it had devolved into a civil war that ended up catching Damian in the crossfire and killing him. Thankfully, things had not gone that way at all — apparently, Jason's speech had its intended effect, as the entire empire had collapsed practically overnight, with most of its members fleeing the organization like rats would a sinking ship. It helped that Talia, the presumed heir until Damian was of age (at least until Damian had been sent to Bruce with Jason and Cass) had washed her hands of it all as well. Last they had checked, she was currently sight-seeing in Europe, still healing from the torture at her deceased father's hands.

With the League of Assassins out of play, that eliminated at least some of the potential forces the villains could bring to the table. Chances are that the weaker and less wilier villains would be sent after them first to wear them down, perhaps separate a few of their forces away from the main one gradually until they were faced with the stronger ones, like Circe or Despero. Savage was smart like that — he's had fifty thousand years of experience to fall back on, after all, and it's not like they could do anything but a full-frontal assault. There were too many of them and the island was too small for them to hide out somewhere while a smaller ground team was sent to infiltrate. Knowing that caveman, there was both technological and magical sensors to detect them at a moment's notice, probably when they entered the island's airspace. The only option was to smash through the front door, and smash hard.

So that's what they did. The Javelins had managed to land onto the island unimpeded — which everyone knew was just the calm before the storm — and the fortress quickly located. It was a magnificent, elegant thing, in perfect accordance to the classical tastes of both Ra's al Ghul and Vandal Savage, who fancied themselves sophisticated men of a higher caliber than the common riff-raff. It was also heavily fortified and heavily guarded, and just like how Bruce predicted, the primary forces were third-rates like the Trickster and Crazy Quilt. A quick run from Superman took care of that quickly and then everyone with access to an energy attack fired at the gate, and yeah, any sense of anonymity they might have had was gone.

But contrary to the rest of Bruce's prediction, they weren't met by a staggered group of villains that would chip away at them. No, they had a free run to the main chamber, the throne room where a living Ra's al Ghul would have made his decrees like the King of the World he pretended himself to be. It made him feel uneasy. It made his children feel uneasy. And when they're uneasy, _everyone_ was uneasy. He can sense it from everyone present as they charge through the corridors. The Flashes make it there first, followed by Superman and Alan Scott, and one punch from Clark shattered the wood into splinters.

Vandal Savage was waiting for them, lounging about on a throne where a small table had been propped up. He had a goblet of red wine (or, at least, Bruce _hoped_ it was red wine) in one hand and a knife in the other. On the plate was some oddly-colored meat that Bruce doesn't dare to wonder about. He smirked at them all in a lazy fashion.

"Welcome!" He greeted them, setting the glass and the knife down and spreading his arms as if they were guests and not intruders. "We've been waiting for you!"

"Where are they, Savage!" Clark demanded, seething. Weapons had already been drawn, and they're held at the ready as every hero present prepares themselves for battle. Savage was far too composed, and the intel indicated that there was supposed to be an army here, and they hadn't encountered it. It's a trap, Bruce knows, but what kind of trap was it?

Savage shrugged, teeth bared. "Oh, here and there. Don't worry, they're alive — I've put too much work into this plot, planning my revenge, to get rid of them just yet."

"So this _is_ about your imprisonment at their hands," Bruce intoned, the crowd parting to expose him as he walked forward, his cape wrapped around him like a shroud. "How long were you in that pocket dimension, Savage?"

The caveman licked his lips. "Thirty thousand years."

People flinch, which caused Savage to laugh. "Cruel, right? But unsurprising to anyone that knows of the Era 2 Justice League. They were always of a hardier sort, more ruthless than those who never made it past Era 1. Why, when I told them how long I was in there, they weren't sorry in the least. They said that I deserved it, after all the crimes I've committed." He tilted his head, his brow crinkling. "They might present themselves as victims, as saviors, but no mistake: they are not as kind as you believe them to be."

Swallows. Bruce felt doubt creeping in and quickly crushes it. Even if Savage was telling the truth, this wasn't the time to discuss it. Not when his son and his teammates weren't present to defend themselves, to present their side of the story. "Enough! Give them back, Savage, and we might just let you and the others go free."

Savage was still smiling. "Very well. If you can convince them to go with you, then you're free to go. But let me warn you: it'll be a much more difficult task than you think."

Before anyone could ask him to clarify, Savage clapped his hands. Bruce only had a moment to feel the tingle of magic, the sound of multiple _pop!_ s, before he was gone.

* * *

Wally lands on his feet, and sees Bart and Jay do the same. He looks around. _Where are we?_

It's an arena, that much Wally can see. There's a huge track in it, pristine and unbeaten. Newly created, newly built. Unlike typical structures of this kind, however, it's much narrower. There's no excess space, no high ceilings — it's like an expanded hallway, really.

Wally doesn't like it.

They look and look and look and finally, they see. There's a man standing at the end, his back to them. Wally approaches him slowly, cautiously, taking in his appearance. He's wearing a red suit not unlike Wally's own, with goldenrod lightning decals around his waist and on his boots. There are mercury wings on the temples of his head, just like Wally. And when he turns around, Wally can see the white emblem of the Flash suit on his chest.

Unlike Wally, however, the man wears a blue visor over his eyes, its edges jagged and obscuring. However, the bottom of his face is still exposed, and Wally can see the darkness of his skin.

It's impossible, he would think, except over the past couple of weeks, Wally had learned that a great many of things were very much possible. So, he hesitantly steps forward, mindful of how Bart and Jay are behind him, staring too. "…Wallace?"

There isn't a so much as a twitch, but Wally just barely manages to see it anyway.

He dodges the resulting burst, but he's the only one. Bart and Jay are not so lucky, and they're thrown off their feet, landing harshly on their backs with audible groans. Dust is still kicking up as they try to get back to their feet, while Wally turns around and stares. When they managed to land their gazes on Wallace again, they stare too.

Scarlet lightning crackles around Wallace's adult form, and a horrible feeling pits itself in Wally's gut. But before he can dwell on it, Wallace snaps his fingers, and a sonic boom erupts, and there's no more time to think at all.

* * *

The arena J'onn is placed in is more standard. It's proportional in length, more like a circle than an oval, and it has high ceilings. Magnificently high ceilings, in fact. The temperature is cool, which J'onn is grateful for. He doesn't mind warm temperatures, but the hotter it becomes the more likely something is to catch fire. J'onn does _not_ like fire.

He floats and observes and then he sees her. A woman he does not recognize. He approaches her calmly, quietly, and stills when she floats up as well and turns to see him. Her appearance is… _startling_.

She is bald, and pale white. Her eyes are a crimson red, matching J'onn's own. Her outfit is a black body suit, with a blue cape with a hood attached. A cloak, not unlike the one Raven of the Teen Titans wore before she became a disembodied spirit. However, the most eye-catching aspect of the ensemble is the red 'X' the covers the entire upper half of her body. A perfect match for the symbol that covers his bare chest.

J'onn knows, despite common belief, that he is not the Last Martian. The Justice League has met other Martians as well, has fought them because they are savage and cruel and seeking dominion over them all. White Martians, so a more apt descriptor would be to call him the Last _Green_ Martian. And when he heard of this M'gann M'orzz, when he had been told that she had succeeded him, called him and adopted him as _family_ , his heart had lightened and he had assumed that she had been Green.

But, upon further reflection, Superboy and the others had never clarified as much. They had simply called her a Martian.

J'onn felt like an _idiot_.

And then he's brained by the most powerful telekinetic blast he has ever felt in his life.

* * *

Arthur grunted as he landed on his feet, splashing into the water with Mera and Garth quickly following him. His estranged wife had insisted on accompanying them on this mission, citing Kaldur'ahm as her responsibility. Even now, Arthur could tell there was something off about that, something that Mera wasn't telling him. Something that the time travelers knew and were trying to hide. Well, whatever it was, it would have to wait. They needed to get the boy back first.

"Any sign of him?"

"None so far!" Mera called back.

"Uh… Aquaman, Queen Mera?"

That was Garth. Arthur turn around to see his former protege backing away from something. He stepped forward, about to ask what was wrong, until he caught a look about what startled Garth so. And froze.

Black Manta.

Snarling, Arthur gripped his trident and prepared to charge, only to stop when a soft, but familiar hand clutched his shoulder. He whipped his head around to see it was Mera, shaking her head with a harried expression. "No, Arthur," she said, almost pleading.

"Mera—!"

"That's not Black Manta! That's Kaldur'ahm!"

A beat of silence. Arthur stared.

"… _What?_ "

Mera looked away, ashamed. Her grip on his should shoulder loosened, allowing Arthur to break away to once more to look at Blac—no, _Kaldur_ _'ahm_. Upon further look, she was correct. The man in front of him had hair, for one — blond hair. The golden hair that Mera espoused her friend had. And his armor was orange and green, complete with his symbol on Arthur's own symbol on his belt. It looked like a sleeker, less-scaled version of Arthur's old outfit. The armor he had worn before the death of his son. But his _face_ …

"Mera," Arthur began, his voice calm and cold, "why does he look like Black Manta?"

Mera remained silent. Garth, the observer, was also staring at Kaldur, paler than a ghost. His mouth kept on opening and closing, as if he didn't know what to say.

"Mera!"

"He's Manta's son, Arthur," Mera finally confessed, voice stilted and tearful, as she grabbed his arm. "The pirate who invaded Xebel, who seduced Sha'lain'a and tried to steal the treasure was Black Manta. He impregnated her, and she ran away with a henchman of his that he had mutated as part of his experiments: Calvin Durham. Kaldur was named after him."

Arthur glanced at her, glaring, before scrounging his eyes closed and breathing in deeply. Garth was watching them now, warily. He was wondering if they were going to have a blowout here, no doubt. For that, he soothed his rage. The anger could come later. This was more important.

"We shall discuss this another time," Arthur told her, wrenching his arm away. He stared hard at the visage of Kaldur, idly remembering that the boy was supposed to be a boy, not a man. Was that what Savage spoke of? What had he done to this boy? "Kaldur'ahm, I am Arthur Curry, the first Aquaman as you are no doubt aware. We need to—"

Kaldur didn't say anything. He just drew one of the waterbearers from his back and formed a sword, and tried to cut Arthur down. Arthur backed away to dodge the slash, and spun his trident forward. Garth immediately flanked him, falling back on years of partnership and training. After a moment, Mera did the same.

Now that the shock of Kaldur's appearance no longer blinded him, he could see the other man's expression in full. It was grim, but blank. His eyes were vacant.

_Mind control_ , Arthur cursed. _This_ was what Savage was talking about. "We need to knock him out!" he commanded.

"Arthur—!"

"He's under Savage's control, Mera! We have no choice!"

"Aquaman!" Garth called out again, alarmed.

Arthur watched in shock and horror as electricity began to dance around Kaldur's torso, making his pale green eyes glow a startlingly blue. The other Aquaman slammed his sword down to the water, the electricity traveling from his torso and down his arm to the pool below. Almost immediately, his three opponents felt the effects, wincing and gasping as the feeling of electrocution passed through them. "What the hell?" Garth gasped, trying to steady himself.

There was no time to answer. Kaldur leapt at them, two water swords in his hands, and only combat remained.

* * *

"Donna! Stop it!"

Donna didn't listen. Or, rather, she _couldn_ _'t_ listen. Diana grit her teeth as she parried her sister's sword with her own, then dropped down and tried to sweep at Donna's legs. Donna easily maneuvered out of the way and followed up with a front kick that Diana had to block with one of her bracers. Undeterred, Donna quickly spun around and tried to kick Diana with her other leg, forcing her older sister to duck and roll to dodge. Diana quickly got back to her feet as Donna and her began to circle each other again, each searching for an opening.

From the side, a wincing Cassie sat up, watching the pitched battle with trepidation. She had spotted Donna the moment they had dropped down, and in her happiness, had failed to notice the change in her appearance. The fierce punch to her face and the harsh kick to her midsection had been the wakeup call. The attack had sent her careening onto the dirt floor, moaning, and caused Diana to attack in retaliation.

Now, that the haze of pain was beginning to fade, she could the difference. Donna looked older — a lot more like Diana, to be honest, though her long hair had a certain curl and sheen that her older sister lacked. it was also tied into a loose, low pony tail, hanging down her back and whipping around with every twist and turn. The outfit she was wearing was a silver version of Diana's own costume, blue where it was red, black where it was blue, but with white stars scattered about and a silver skirt in place of Diana's panties. She even wore a silver version of Diana's golden tiara, with a blue star embossed in the center.

And in the moment, Cassie realized that this was Donna when she was older and wiser and in that other time. This was the second Wonder Woman. It was made all the more obvious when she easily matched Diana blow-for-blow, sword-for-sword, shield-for-shield. She even had her own lasso, and this one had a certain shine to it that matched Diana's own — the Lasso of Truth. Savage had aged Donna to her prime, given her old armor and weapons, and then had taken control of her mind to make her kill them.

It would _destroy_ Donna if that happened.

Cassie wouldn't let it happen.

She got up, and ran, this time more mindful of Donna's attacks. The former Wonder Girl had her sword locked with her predecessor, and was thus unprepared for Cassie jumping her from behind, striking at her back. That gave Diana enough of an opening to push Donna back, over Cassie, who had gone to her elbows and knees to further trip their opponent up. Donna involuntarily flipped over the impromptu stool, but quickly oriented herself so she landed gracefully on her feet. On the way she sheathed her sword onto her side and her shield on her back. She held up her hands.

Cassie got to her feet, only to quickly be pushed back to the side by Diana as huge blast of white energy passed through where the two of them had been standing. She whipped her head around to see Donna's hands glowing with the same energy, with a trail of smoke from each wafting upwards. "Photokinetic blasts? But she's not supposed to have those powers anymore!"

Diana grunted. "I know. This is going to be a lot more difficult than we thought."

A vast understatement. As if the energy blasts weren't enough, Donna made a small leap, beginning to float before she soared into the sky. Cassie watched her go with wide eyes before she was forced to run and dodge the torrent of star blasts thrown her way.

* * *

Bruce didn't even bother with words. He knew there was no point.

Teleportation. _Magic_. That, at least, partially explained how Jason and the others ended up in this time. Granted, it should've been obvious — Vandal Savage was a sorcerer of fair renown in _this_ time. Bruce could only imagine what he had gotten up to after being stuck in a pocket dimension for thirty thousand years. Revenge was a great motivator, as every member of his family knew all too well.

They had landed on their feet, because of course they did, and immediately identified their surroundings. Large room, high ceilings, hanging lights, and walls with terraces and apparatuses. The first thing that came to Bruce's mind is that it looked like a battle arena. An idea that immediately made him suspicious.

That suspicion only grew when someone silently emerged from the shadows to confront them. A Batman. Upon seeing him, they all went on edge.

Unlike Bruce, this Batman was dressed differently. More… _futuristic_. For one thing, his cowl wasn't actually a cowl — it was a helmet, with armor covering the entirety of his face opposed to the upper half like Bruce's, and pointed ears sticking out from the back of the head, giving it the image of a bat. The eye coverings glowed an ominous white, in a way that made Bruce feel as if they were piercing into his soul.

The suit was not much better. It had no bright coloring whatsoever, no blues or yellows, just different shades of grays and blacks, barring the silver bat symbol on his chest. Even his utility belt was black, wrapped around his waist and forming a small 'v' above the lower half of his body. Just from looking at it, Bruce could see it was made of a sturdier and thicker fabric; he wouldn't be surprised if some heavy circuitry had been woven into it as well. Really, the only thing about the suit that was identical to Bruce's was the cape draped around the back, flaring out like his own.

It took Bruce seconds to figure out who this was — his missing son. The general size and overall physique matched Jason's adult form. Bruce would never forget that image, even if Jason spent most of it in a duel to the death with Ra's. Almost as tall and muscular as Bruce's own, just with a slightly leaner form.

This…this was the third Batman.

Bruce was impressed as he was terrified. Because Jason hadn't spoken a word, and with that helmet Bruce couldn't read his intentions. But judging by the apprehensive way Cass held herself and the tension in the air, and Savage's damning words — _it_ _'ll be a much more difficult task than you think_ — the answer was obvious. Jason did not return to this form by choice. And, more than likely, Jason was not in control of himself. Meaning…

Bruce took out a batarang. Dick drew his sticks. Tim extended his staff. Cass fell into a stance.

Jason reached into his utility belt, took out what looked liked to be a small EMP device, and knocked out the lights.

* * *

Superman was the only one by himself.

Not even Steel was with him. That could not be a coincidence.

He looked around and— _Kon_.

Kon was older. _Much_ older. He was a dead ringer for Clark, and the minute differences definitely came from Lex, which caused something to churn in his stomach. And his uniform…he was dressed as Superman. A much different-looking Superman, but a Superman nonetheless. Most of the body suit was black, except for his arms and shoulders, which were colored white. The House of El's symbol was red against a black background — really, the only similarity between their suits was the red cape with the yellow symbol stitched into it.

A different-looking Superman. A different _kind_ of Superman.

But still Superman.

Clark stepped forward. "Kon…?"

That was all he managed to get out before he was bum-rushed, a punch to the chin hurling him through the ceiling and into the sky above.

* * *

"What did you do to them, Savage!" Alan Scott roared as they watched in horror as many of their comrades disappeared.

Savage smiled. "I just sent them to meet the captives. You know, the captives you were here to rescue?"

Courtney narrowed her eyes. "You did something to them, didn't you?"

The caveman shrugged, his own eyes flickering towards Courtney. "Of a sorts, Starwoman. I simply returned them to their original states. Allowed their bodies to match their minds. I'm certain you've all been wondering how powerful they all were in their timelines — well, your comrades are not getting a crash course in just how much."

"You son of a bitch," Wildcat growled. Around him, the remaining heroes readied themselves, preparing their attack. Savage raised a brow, and smirked.

"Now, now, we can't have that, can we?" He snapped his fingers.

Almost immediately, the walls of the base disappeared and the group of heroes found themselves in an open area once again. Except this time, they were surrounded by a number of villains, each of them looking on eagerly as they waited for the signal to begin the carnage. The already tense heroes felt the tightening of the string, as Savage appeared above them and clapped his hands.

Then, a hand fell.

And then… chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than the usual 5000-6000, but I couldn't think of anything more to add to this chapter. You'll be noticing that a certain someone is missing from the lineup. Don't worry. He'll be coming back soon.
> 
> As for the suits, I hope you can visualize them. Kaldur and M'gann are in their Young Justice cartoon suits, just more visibly older and adult-like. Wallace isn't really all that different from Barry and Wally, barring the visor. But as for the others — Donna's is a blue and silver and black pallette of Diana's DC Rebirth suit, while Kon is a mix of Justice Lord Superman and Batman Beyond Superman. Jason's, of course, is partially based on the Arkham Knight suit, though it's entire black and silver, with some white and gray.
> 
> In other news, RIP Chadwick Boseman. I didn't hear until a few days after the fact (because I don't keep up with celebrity news all that much, don't judge me), but I was heartbroken to hear about it. No matter what Disney decides from here on out, he'll always be Black Panther to me.
> 
> As for why it took so long for this chapter to come out, I took something of a break from writing and then started hashing out an AU for this AU. I won't say anything yet since it's still in the planning stages, but I think you'll like it. There's also another AU idea bouncing around my head, but I haven't really gotten the chance to flesh it out yet. Chances are, one of these two ideas, or Arc V of THAB, will be my project for this year's NaNoWriMo.
> 
> Next chapter: Era 1 vs Era 2.


	17. Grand Royale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Era 1 vs. Era 2. 
> 
> Let’s hope they all make it out alive.

"I just realized something!" Courtney called out to Alan Scott as she blasted the approaching Shiv with her Cosmic Staff.

Alan, who was in the midst of warding off Doctor Polaris with a green shield, glanced at her. "What?"

"Why are you here?" she asked, twirling her staff as she ducked under an attack from Cheetah. "If Savage intends to have the Era 2 Justice League murder those closest to them, why didn't he summon you too? You're the only member of the Lantern family that came on this mission!"

The first Green Lantern grimaced. "I don't know. There's something about Green Lantern that they were holding back about before they were captured. Whatever it is, it's probably why Savage didn't send him after me."

"Do you think they're alright?" Arrowette asked as she fired an arrow at Captain Cold, who quickly froze it with his Cold Gun. "How are they going to break through the mind control?"

Wildcat grunted as he exchanged blows with Atomic Skull. "We're just gonna have to have faith that they do. Those time travelers might be from the future an' stuff, but the people of this time are strong too. They'll survive. They'll _win_."

It wasn't clear who he was trying to convince more — everyone around him, or himself.

* * *

The very moment the lights went out, the rescuers split into two teams — Bruce and Dick on one, Tim and Cass on the other. Each team stood back-to-back to prevent any possible sneak attacks, each activating the night vision in their respective headsets. They scanned the area for Jason, but there was not so much of a whiff of wind or a subtle shift of the light. Wherever he was, he was hidden too well.

As time continued on and Jason continued to fail to appear, the vigilantes only became tenser, more paranoid. It was probably intentional, they all realized. Jason was a Bat too, he knew how to keep them off their game. All it would take was just one little shift, one out-of-place sound or shadow, and they'd attack wildly. So, despite all their instincts screaming at them not to, they forced themselves to relax to a more appropriate level of paranoia. One that wouldn't make them all jump at each other if they so much as sneezed.

Finally, after several more minutes, Jason made a move. A few pellets of knockout gas was dropped into the center of the room, between both teams. As a cloud spilled into the air and everyone scrambled to grab their gas masks to filter it out, Jason finally attacked — except, instead of Batman and Nightwing, like one would assume he would do, he went after Batgirl and Robin instead.

Robin froze when he saw the fist aimed directly for his face, but Batgirl saved him, her reflexes from both David Cain's training and years on the run serving her well. She pushed him out of the way and beginning engaging the third Batman in combat, as Bruce took out multiple flares and released them into the room to bring back some much-needed light into the room. Tim settled his gas mask onto his face as he gripped his bo-staff tighter and got up to join the fray.

He didn't get far. Jason must have sensed their intentions because in the midst of his battle with their sister, he smoothly drew out three smoke pellets, holding them between his fingers as he threw them. They exploded on contact with the ground, keeping the three of them at bay as they waited for the smoke to clear. By the time it did, it was already held too late. Jason had Cass by the throat and was slowly choking the life out of her.

_How_ _—shit, she didn_ _'t get the gas mask on in time!_ The cowl of the new Batgirl suit might have covered all of his sister's face but it was a poor substitute for a legitimate gas mask to filter out the air. Undoubtedly, some of the knockout gas had soaked into the fabric and had been inhaled by Cass. That would've weakened her enough for Jason to take advantage.

Feeling the guilt at knowing he was responsible for this, that Jason had only managed to do this because Cass had foregone putting her mask in favor of saving him, Tim charged in, careful to keep light on his feet. He could see the moment Jason noticed him, and ducked under the retaliatory back-swing as he rammed he slammed his bo-staff directly onto his arm with all his might. It wasn't enough to break the hold completely, but it weakened his grip enough for Cass to swing a kick to her much bigger opponent and force him to let go. She fell to her knees, taking deep breaths, as Tim guarded her.

At least until Jason practically sprinted forward towards them at near inhuman speeds. Neither of them had time to react before he was already there, harshly grabbing their heads and slamming them together, knocking them right out. Nightwing and Batman, who had been in the midst of running to aid their younger proteges, quickly threw their own batarangs to force him back while they recovered the two and took them to a corner of the room, where they could remain out of the way.

Once again, a stand-off ensued as they faced off against their brainwashed teammate. Nightwing once again brandished his escrima sticks while Batman held up his fists. Jason didn't assume any stance, just stood there with his cape cloaking him, much like Bruce would when not in combat. The air stilled.

"He was fast," Dick whispered to his father. " _Too_ fast."

"It's the suit," Bruce grimly concluded. "Technology evolves a lot in _one_ year. I can only imagine how far it went in several decades. I'll bet our entire fortune that suit enhances his body's capabilities — strength, speed, agility, reflexes — beyond their limits. We're going have to treat this as if we're fighting a metahuman."

"A metahuman that has the same training we do, knows all our tricks inside and out, and has access to technology that outdates ours by several decades," Dick quickly summed up, "Not really inspiring any confidence here, boss."

Bruce grunted. "We'll manage. We've got one thing on our side that he doesn't."

"And that is…?"

"There's one of him," Bruce started, running forward, with Dick following, "and two of us!"

Jason tensed as they approached him, his cape flaring outward as he started back-stepping to avoid Dick's strikes. He drew his own sticks from the side of his utility belt, stretching them out as he began striking back. The two danced around each other for a bit, until Jason was forced to disengage when Bruce entered the fray, jumping back to dodge an uppercut to the chin and ducking under a kick swung at his head. He quickly rolled in-between them, jumping to his feet and swinging his cape to hold them back for a bit as he configured his sticks together into a sword.

He expertly cut the sword in several swift movements before falling into a stance, both his hands gripping the hilt. This time, it was him taking the initiative, meeting his two predecessors head on. He jabbed the tip of his sword forward, forcing them to briefly separate to dodge the blow, and quickly spun on his heel and kicked Bruce in the chest with all his might, far to the other side of the room. Jason then glanced back at Nightwing, dropping to a half-crouch as he tried to sweep the shorter man's legs. Dick flipped over him, soaring high above his head and landing on the other side.

Dick spun one stick in his hand as he swung with the other, not losing his stride as Jason blocked it with one of his gauntlets. In a move reminiscent of the one Jason had made not too long ago (something not lost on Dick, which made it all too clear who Jason probably learned it from), he spun on his heel and attempted to kick Jason on the side. Unfortunately, it seems _because_ Jason knew it, he had anticipated it, and it had been easy for him to grab Dick's leg. He quickly shoved the other vigilante away before swinging his sword in a wide arc, looking to decapitate him. Dick just barely managed to use his amazing flexibility to bend backwards to dodge the blow, the sword cutting off the very tips of his hair.

As he began panting at the close call, Jason took advantage and tried to slam his foot downward onto his chest. Dick barely rolled out of the way and got to his feet, but he was still too slow; his opponent darted forward, grabbing at his suit with one hand and elbowing him hard in the face with his other arm. The first Robin stumbled back as he tried to stem the flow of blood from his now bleeding nose, his situational awareness dropping to nonexistent levels as Jason slowly approached him to finish him off.

He didn't get the chance, as his _other_ opponent tried to sneak up on him from behind and tackle him. Jason sensed it and moved to the side to avoid, but Bruce recovered quickly, falling into a roll and quickly getting back to his feet. The two men circled each other slowly, Jason separating his sword into its dual sword configuration. Eventually, as if some unseen bell rung, the two charged at each other. Jason swung with the right sword, aiming to cut off Bruce's head, and quickly flipped the left one into a reverse grip to block the incoming blow as his father dodged it and threw a punch in retaliation.

They struggled for a bit in a lock before Bruce jumped back to dodge another swing from Jason's other sword. Jason crossed the swords into an X-shape before sliding them against each other, slicing a similar symbol in the air. An intimidation gesture, Bruce quickly realized. Before his second son couldn't approach him, his eldest, his nosebleed stemmed by some plugs he kept on person, saddled up next to him, falling back into a fighting stance of his own. The two of them darted forward again.

But again, their efforts were fruitless. Jason was quick to separate them whenever he could, often using Dick's flashy flips as openings to accomplish that. Even when Dick quickly caught on and phased that out, Jason found new ways to keep them apart, not hesitating to use the full-force of his suit's capabilities against them. By the fifth time this happened, Bruce and Dick retreated and quickly regrouped.

"This isn't working!" Dick hissed.

Bruce grunted in agreement. "He knows our styles too well. And we don't know his well enough."

Dick frowned. He knew what Bruce meant. Memories of the past months, of both spars and missions with Jason flashed through his mind. Both of them had become well-acquainted with Jason's new fighting style, that mish-mash of all of their own styles, combined with a number of switching weapons. It was a weird, if effective, style that they had only just acclimated to.

There were elements of that style in the Jason they were facing right now, but the difference could be measured in magnitudes. The younger Jason focused on agility and speed to accommodate for his still growing body. _This_ Jason, fully grown and with an entirely different suit, was starkly divorced from that. While he was still fast and agile, he was more focused on the sheer power that his body type afforded him. He was strong and he knew it, and he had no issues throwing that weight around. He didn't need to make multiple blows, just the one, and that one could be every bit as crippling as several of their best hits could be.

More than that, this Jason was completely and utterly pragmatic and downright _vicious_. While all Bats were no-nonsense to some degree in a fight, adult Jason seemed to take it a whole new level. He didn't hesitate to take advantage of an opening when it was given to him, and when he did, he did so with extreme prejudice, as Nightwing could attest to. They didn't know if this was a result of whatever mind control Savage had him under or his natural disposition or both, but it was proving to be very inconvenient for his family.

"That's why he took out Robin and Batgirl first," Bruce continued, breaking through Dick's thoughts.

"What do you mean? I mean, Batgirl is dangerous but she's inexperienced, and Robin's talents don't lie in combat." Even if he was getting better, they both knew that Tim was the worst fighter in this room — something that Jason, even in his current state, would be well aware of.

Bruce shook his head. "It's not their fighting ability he was worried about. It was their ability to analyze him."

Dick opened his mouth to ask for further elaboration, only to stop as realization hit him. "Batgirl's body-reading ability," he breathed out.

"Yes," Bruce agreed, nodding. "Batgirl would've been able to predict his moves and formulate a general idea of his fighting style. Had she managed to stay conscious, she might've even been able to counter it. And Robin's specialty is his detective skills and technology. He might've been able to figure out the finer points of Knight's suit, might've even found a way to disable it.

"It's like you said before: he knows all of our moves," Dick stopped for the moment to dodge another jab, this time from a bo-staff — it seemed Jason was sick of all the talking, "and we barely know his! That's his greatest advantage!"

"And it's an advantage that he won't discard unless he absolutely has to," Bruce concurred, blocking blows from the staff. "That's what any master strategist would do. He went after Batgirl and Robin first because he judged _them_ to be the biggest threats, not us."

Dick shot forward, throwing one of his escrima sticks right at the back of Jason's head. Jason seemed to sense it, and dodged by simply tilting his head to the right, allowing the stick to hit the wall next to Bruce and fall harmlessly to the floor. Dick would bet his entire trust fund that his brother's helmet probably had some kind of inbuilt HUD that allowed him to sense incoming threats, including those aimed at his back. His situational awareness was insane, even for a Batman. "B," the first Robin called out again, "if this is a problem for us, wouldn't this be a problem for _anyone_ fighting the future JL?"

"You think the others are fighting his teammates too?" Bruce called back, rolling back to his protege to dodge a swing of the staff.

Dick held up his remaining stick and electrified it as he engaged Jason once more in his mentor's place. "Savage wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of kidnapping all of them without some kind of purpose. If he sent Knight after us like this, it's only safe to assume that the others are facing their own successors as well. And if we're having this much trouble," he grunted as Jason snatched his wrist and stretched and twisted his arm, "I can only imagine how everyone else is dealing."

* * *

"So how are we going to play this?" Jay asked as they got their feet, facing off a still Wallace. The sight of red lightning cackling around the youngest member of their family was daunting to all of them.

"We need to knock him out," Wally decided immediately.

"But how?" Bart asked, buzzing both literally and figuratively. "We can't even get near him!"

As if to punctuate that, Wallace snapped his fingers again and another sonic boom echoed through the hallway, forcing the speedsters back. This time they're prepared for it and manage to land on their feet, but it just illustrated Bart's point — they couldn't get near him. Well, perhaps not Bart or Jay, but Wally could. But was it worth the risk?

Wally thought that over and thought yes, it was. "I'm going to try and rush him. If he launches another blast, I _think_ I might be able to run around it. You two do the same, but in separate directions. Try to distract him."

Plan decided, the three speedsters went into action. Bart, owing to his nature, was the one to charge directly at Wallace, with Jay angling from the left while Wally angled from the right. Surprisingly, this time Wallace didn't produce a shockwave and wiped them all out. It didn't take long, however, for them to realize that he didn't _need_ to.

One second Bart was rushing Wallace, arms spread out to grab the man, and the next he was gagging on having Wallace's knee in his stomach. The blow sent him tumbling backwards, ass over teakettle. From behind Wallace, Wally grimaced but tried to take advantage of the distraction to grab his cousin from behind. Unfortunately, Wallace had sensed him, judging by how he had caught Wally's arm and threw him onto his back. _Hard_.

That left Jay. Wallace let go of Wally's hand and practically floated to the side to avoid Jay's punch. When the man skidded to a stop and turned on his heel to follow up, Wallace was already there, catching his second punch and returning with his own, directly to the face. The other man was sent flying back, his helmet ripped from his head by Wallace's other hand. Before he could recover, Wallace was there again, kicking him in the chest to keep his footing off, before twisting the helmet in his hand and using the spherical top to begin slapping the man's face, back and forth.

"JAY!" Wally and Bart cried out as one as they watched their cousin beat the crap out of their mentor. Jay might have been the first of the Flashes but he was unquestionably the slowest, especially now that he was into his old age. Wallace, brainwashed and all, was taking advantage of it mercilessly.

Jay choked out a glob of blood as he stumbled away, using the wall to keep upright. Wallace threw the helmet at the back of his head, causing him to cry out in pain, before grabbing the back of his opponent's suit. He pulled Jay forward, off his feet, and then slammed a super-sped fist down onto his solar plexus, causing the older man to crash into the floor, leaving a visible dent. He let out one last gasp, before falling limp.

The remaining Flashes stared at the prone body of their idol, silently, desperately hoping that the man wasn't dead. They didn't have long to linger, however, as Wallace's visored gaze once again settled on them. Quickly, they got to their feet, and a stand-off ensued as the two speedsters began to circle one another, gold and scarlet lightning training behind them.

Then, the clash began again.

* * *

J'onn had to admit, it was rare for him to fight someone who had his power set. Even among psionics, a telepath and telekinetic on his level was rare. To say nothing of the super strength, the Martian Vision, the shapeshifting…well, there was a reason J'onn was one of the most feared members of the JLA. If only his weakness wasn't so common, he'd probably be the most feared member of all.

But as rare as it was for him to fight someone that had his power set, it was even rarer to fight someone that was _better at using it_. It was a shame to admit, a bitter pill to swallow, but this M'gann had been trained well by his counterpart, and had only developed her skills further after his death. Not only was her telekinesis quite possibly stronger than his, but she had combined it with her super strength and her shapeshifting to form an absolutely formidable fighting style.

She was constantly moving, constantly attacking, never staying in one form. Sometimes she would morph her appendages, sometimes it was her entire body. An octopus, crab hands, an eastern dragon, intangibility, all punctuated by several neatly-timed telekinetic blasts. M'gann M'orzz had taken her kind's propensity for violence and had refined it into something precise and deadly. J'onn was struggling just to keep up with it all, and knew, almost instinctively, that he couldn't keep it up for long.

This was not a fight he could win on this battlefront.

_So_ , he thought as his eyes glowed red, _I_ _'ll move it to another._

He allowed M'gann to grab him with her next attack. Before she could melt his head with her Martian Vision, he turned invisible and intangible. As she tried to look for him, tried to sense him with her telepathy, he connected his mind to her own… and then dove in.

* * *

"We cannot use our hydrokinesis on him! He'll just use it to electrocute us!" Garth shouted as he and the others dodged the swipe of Kaldur's water swords. He tensed as the other man twisted one sword in his hand and shot towards him.

Garth quickly retaliated with some energy blasts, grimacing as Kaldur expertly cut them away before getting into his opponent's guard. The former Aqualad dropped down, bending away to dodge another swipe of the blades before rolling forward, trying to ruin Kaldur's footing. Kaldur jumped up and then down, landing on Garth's chest with a powerful two-footed stomp. Garth gagged as Kaldur kicked him away.

He didn't have long to breathe, however. Mera, disregarding Garth's advice, quickly threw several hard-water missiles at Kaldur. Once again, the man sliced through them, quickly engaging his queen in hand-to-hand combat. Mera formed two pikes of her own with the surrounding water as she and Kaldur dueled; but, it was quickly becoming clear that despite her training, she was outmatched. After parrying several of her blows with his swords, Kaldur kicked her in the chest, forcing her back, before sheathing his water-bearers and using his own hydrokinesis to lance her shoulder with a sharp, hard-water projectile of his own.

Mera screamed in pain as she collapsed to her knees, clutching her now bleeding shoulder. Before she could recover, Kaldur lanced her again with another projectile to her other shoulder. She screamed again, distracted by her pain as Kaldur prepared one last lance, aimed directly at her heart. Before he could throw it, however, he spotted a roaring, charging Arthur from the periphery of his eye and threw it at him instead.

Arthur slapped the lance away with his hook as he twirled his trident in his remaining hand. Kaldur, apparently maintaining some form of emotion even in his brainwashed state, frowned as he jumped back to dodge a stab of the trident and drew out his water-bearers again, once more configuring them into their sword-shape. He clashed them both against the trident, before once again trying to swipe away. Arthur dodged the attacks before spinning on his heel and delivering a kick, which Kaldur expertly blocked with his forearm, before grabbing the leg and trying to flip his king. Arthur ripped the leg away before he could before charging forward with another stab.

Now it was Kaldur on the backfoot. He was constantly shifting his shoulders as he dodged the descending prongs, trying to block them with his swords and then with maces. However, Arthur's blows grew powerful with each swing, and gradually, Kaldur's grip on his water-bearers began to weaken. Finally, one last powerful blow broke the grip completely, and water-bearers were sent flying, buried into the throng of still water that blanketed the entire floor of the room.

He didn't have time to search for them. Arthur refused to give up the advantage and thrust forward, forcing Kaldur duck into a combat roll to dodge. He quickly got back up, facing his king's back, but before he could take advantage, Arthur spun on his heel and continued the barrage. Kaldur held up his fists as he began to dodge, using every odd opening to attack with his hands and knees. Finally, he struck gold when Arthur began to tire. He managed to redirect the direction of the trident, kicking at Arthur's chest with all his strength and managing to wrench the weapon from his opponent's grasp.

As Arthur stumbled back, he watched in horror as Kaldur expertly twirled the trident much like he would, holding it in a stance. The two Aquamen faced off again for one last still moment. Then, Kaldur charged, and the dance began again.

* * *

Cassie grit her teeth as she used her free hand to grab at the dirt floor to stall her impromptu body skid. She rolled away to dodge a powerful stomp aimed for her head, getting to an upright position only to cry out in pain as a powerful fist slammed into her face and sent her flying, back to the ground. She groaned as Donna approached her, face blank but severe, and winced, waiting for the pain to continue. Thankfully, Diana intervened, slamming into her sister's back and grabbing tight.

Or maybe not. Donna rolled with it, clutching Diana's legs as she tilted backwards, slamming the other woman onto the ground. The force of the attack loosened Diana's hold, and Donna stood up, pulling her sister up by clutching at her thick, black hair. Diana stood wobbly, trying to get her wits about her, which was becoming increasingly more difficult as Donna continued planting blows. Right hook, left hook, and then an uppercut to the chin. As Diana spewed spittle into the sky, Donna followed up with the other hand, burying a powerful fist into Diana's breadbasket. The older Amazon bent forward, clutching at her stomach.

Donna punctuated the assault with a vicious kick to the side of Diana's head, sending her skidding much like Cassie earlier. She approached the older woman, looking to finish her off, but was stopped by a lasso wrapping around her wrist. She glanced back to see the current Wonder Girl had managed to grab Diana's discarded Lasso of Truth, which had fallen off her side sometime during the fight. Donna quickly wrapped the body of the lasso around her wrist before pulling it forward, causing Cassie to yelp as she landed on her stomach. The younger girl was tugged forward, forced to let go of the lasso as she pushed herself to her feet.

Unfortunately, her enemy was there in an instant. Cassie scrambled to dodge another barrage of photon blasts, until she neared Diana's sword. Taking a deep breath, she picked it up and held it forward, before charging into the fray again.

* * *

"Kon!" Clark called out as he flew out of reach of another powerful blow. "Stop it, Kon! I do not want to fight you!"

Kon didn't answer. His face just remained perfectly blank even as he continued to chase Clark around the sky. Clark grimaced as he tried to keep evading his clone's attacks, but unfortunately, Kon had gotten _much_ faster in his adulthood. It was only a matter of time before his luck ran out, and it came in the form of Kon grabbing his cape and using it to flip and smash him into the ground, forming spider cracks into the rugged terrain.

Clark groaned in pain as he was tugged back to his feet by that same cape. Finally accepting that this fight wouldn't be settled with words, he settled his expression into something more serious, before darting forward and ramming his body into Kon's midsection. Kon dig his heels in to stall the momentum, before using the new leverage to toss Clark into the sky. Clark managed to stop his impromptu flight, but wasn't fast enough to dodge the incoming punch.

The older Kryptonian shook it off and started exchanging furious blows with his successor, their fists connecting back and forth, until Kon managed to kick him in the chest to cause a bigger separation. He then placed two fingers to his forehead and then held out his hand in a claw-like fashion. Clark tried to dart forward again, only to slam into an invisible, telekinetic wall. He tried to break through the wall with his heat vision, but the attack failed to take.

Trying a new tactic, he flew up, up, in the sky, only to suddenly shift direction and angle himself towards Kon's back. The other man tried to react, but Clark got there first, grabbing his cape, fully intending to return the favor from earlier.

Then the cape tore off easily.

_A breakaway cape,_ Clark realized, _Of course it couldn_ _'t be that easy_.

Unfortunately, that hesitation cost him. Kon kicked him in the chest once more, ripping the cape from his hands. Clark tried to shake off the blow, only to begin clawing at his neck to rip off the cape that was now being used to choke him out.

* * *

_I might have miscalculated slightly_ , J'onn thought to himself, sweating as he observed in the insides of his supposed niece's mind. Her very, _very_ warded mind.

To be blunt, it looked like a hellscape. There were booby traps and all manner of roving beasts guarding the various entrances to the different parts of her mind. Fire and brimstone, and a general air of stifling surveillance. Even what counted as the ground wasn't safe; it was lined with a moat that had even more beasts in it. Not to mention the organization — it looked like a maze, and J'onn knew that it wasn't because M'gann herself was a disorganized person. Far from it.

This was the mind of a skilled combat telepath. An experienced one too, not unlike himself. In fact, looking around, he could recognize some of the same techniques he used to guard his own mind. J'onn swallowed. Well, he had been the girl's mentor and adoptive uncle, apparently. If there was anyone she would learn advanced combat telepathy from, it was him. He still didn't quite know how to feel about that.

It took all of his skill, both as a flier and as a telepath, to navigate the girl's mind without damaging it or, more likely, getting killed himself. He evaded obstacle after obstacle, drawing upon his own knowledge to try and devise the location of M'gann's mental avatar. Under Savage's control, it would be bound somehow, and breaking her out of it would shatter the spell completely.

Finally, he had fully navigated the maze of doors and found the main chamber, the place where the mental avatar would typically situate themselves in. It was an ornate door, stylized by various, detailed drawings of M'gann's life. J'onn didn't allow himself to linger on them for too long — he was on a time crunch, after all. He inhaled deeply, and pushed the doors open.

Almost immediately, he spotted her. She was still in her Miss Martian form, bound by golden chains attached to the midnight-colored floor. She was snarling as she tried to rip them off, tried to free herself, but despite her super strength, she could not. Despite that, she continued to struggle.

J'onn approached her slowly, careful to keep his steps light. Even so, M'gann sensed him. She suddenly stopped her struggling and whirled her head around to face him, her scarlet gaze narrowing at him as she snarled again. J'onn froze, slightly intimidated.

"Who are you?" she demanded, almost screeching. "You can't be him! _You can_ _'t_! He died! I felt his mind as he died!"

The Green Martian was at a loss for words. Unfortunately, his hesitation cost him — M'gann's eyes began to glow, and before J'onn knew it, he was sinking into the ground and into a vast darkness.

As he fell, he could only hear one thing:

" _Uncle J'onn?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed the fights — they were fun to write, after all! And trust me, this is just a taste of what's to come. This _is_ the action-packed sequel to _one day at a time_ , after all.
> 
> Next chapter: Miss Martian


	18. Miss Martian

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It doesn’t matter the who, it doesn’t matter the what.
> 
> M’gann M’orzz is always, _always_ the last one to go.

_She flinches as the battle rages, as fire burns around her. First came the plague, then the war, and she knows, deep in her soul, that it will never end. Her parents beckon her over to the cruiser they_ _'ve stolen, and she follows because she doesn't know what else to do, and she's sick of this fighting. They escape Mars, watch as it falls apart from the space above, and begin traveling the stars._

_Years pass. They go from planet to planet, never staying for long. The fate of the Martians makes them a rare commodity, and they are sick of the fighting. They know other White Martians have survived, but they still seek to wage war, so they hide from them as well. M'gann_ _hears the slurs, the hatred, and she desperately hopes to never prove them right._

_They continue to drift, until_ _— an opportunity. A Green Martian, named J'onn J'onzz, survived. He now lives on Earth, a celebrated hero. Perhaps… well, they are sick of always running, always fleeing._

_Perhaps Earth could be their new home._

* * *

_It is a mistake._

_M'gann watches as her parents are executed, and stifles her tears as she turns herself into a human and escapes. J'onn J'onzz might be a celebrated hero, but he is Green and they are White, and that makes all the difference here, as much as it did on Mars. The White Martians have invaded once, twice, and the government of this world would dare not risk another attempt._

_So she escapes. She cannot be herself here, so she must become something else. A human, first. And, when the Titans discover her, a Green Martian next. It holds, for a while. The Titans are kind to her, even after the Titans of Tomorrow, even after discovering the truth. Even as her future self gets stuck into her head, makes her do things she never wants to do, they never turn her away._

_Instead, they bring her to J'onn._

* * *

_Things are awkward between them, at first. Her Green Martian disguise doesn't_ _fool J'onn in the least. He is a telepath with magnitudes of more practice and experience than her. He knows what she truly is almost immediately. White and Green, differing philosophies, always at each other's throats. She can feel those old prejudices rear up as they try to converse within their minds, as he helps expel the foreign presence in her mind._

_But. They are the last of the Martians. The last of their race. Those prejudices don_ _'t matter, and sometimes, M'gann wonders if they ever really did. She does not want to be a White Martian, because people say they are evil. But she_ is _a White Martian, and so were her parents, and neither of them were evil. Nor is she, she believes._

_She tells this to J'onn, and to her surprise, he agrees._

" _If there's anything that time on this planet has taught me, M'gann," he speaks, rubbing a hand in her red hair, "it's that your appearance means nothing when determining your character. You'd think that us Martians, as shapeshifters, would have realized that on our own." He smiles bitterly. "You'd be wrong."_

_About a month later, he asks her to call him_ _'Uncle J'onn'._

* * *

_The years pass. M'gann_ _splits her time between Uncle J'onn and the Titans, slowly growing more and more comfortable with bringing elements of her true appearance into the one she uses for the public eye. She makes friends: Stephanie Brown and Kara Zor-El. She does not find love, but that's fine. This, all of this, is enough. It is a mistake, coming to Earth, she thought when her parents died. But it's not a mistake anymore, she realized — just a choice._

_A choice that gave her a life. A good life, beyond all the drifting, all the fear. Her parents may be gone, but the loss doesn_ _'t hurt as much as she thought. She is happy._

_She is happy, and then Uncle_ _J'onn_ _dies._

* * *

_It's_ _Despero, of course. It always is. The Flame of Py'tar won't allow for anything less._

Despero _won_ _'t allow for anything less._

_He attacks them and them alone. The rest of the Justice League is far away, dealing with a crisis that she is all but certain was Despero_ _'s doing. That might as well be a death knell for them both, because it takes more than one team to take Despero down. He never dies, he comes back stronger and stronger every time. And now, after he's died dozens upon dozens of time, he's far beyond the scope of their reach. The only thing he cannot touch is their telepathic bond, their minds having melded so many times that M'gann cannot remember a time when her Uncle J'onn was not with her._

_Until now, that is._

_Until he_ burns _her Uncle J_ _'onn, turning him into a barely living husk. He tosses the body toward her, crooning over his victory, the final defeat of his greatest enemy. And as he does that, M'gann cradles the body of the last Green Martian, beseeching him not to leave her, to not make her the last Martian of them all. And he…he cannot promise that, they both know. So he just whispers comfort into her mind, tells her of all the happiness he had, all the happiness she brought him. And then…and_ then _…_

_It's_ _gone._

He's _gone._

_She feels the energy enter her, feels power never felt before, and screams._

* * *

_She has always had great potential as a telepath, she knows. Uncle J'onn_ _always told her so. But Uncle J'onn is gone now, and has left all this power in his place. She wants to avenge him, but she cannot, because Despero cannot die. At least, not permanently._

_So she improvises._

_Py_ _'tar may be magic, but it is still fire, still_ painful _, and it is easy,_ so _easy to find. A basin of amethyst flames, and even as she feels the fear course through her, there is a triumph in her eyes. This is her revenge._

_Despero comes for her, of course. But that was the plan all along._

_Another time, another place, this would_ _'ve been suicide. But M'gann's mind has been bolstered by her uncle's death, and it is so easy to knock away her opponent's own telepathy. To pierce his defenses, to break them all down, damaging them one by one by one until his mind is nothing more than a ruin. To cut the connection between the mind and the body, to_ kill _him._

_Despero might need multiple teams to be vanquished._

_But that is only because they can never afford to kill him._

_M'gann_ _has no reservations about that now._

_He dies, and already she can sense him about to be reborn in the fire below. She needs to be quick. She uses her telekinesis to remove the binding talisman from her person, and quickly mutters the spell taught to her. She has practiced the words for hours, even days, to get the pronunciation right, and the talisman is woven by the collective hands of Zatanna and Doctor Fate. She cannot afford a single mistake._

_She says the words, drops the talisman into the fire. And then, finally, Despero is reborn, and tries to escape, to finish the job._

_Only to find that he can_ _'t._

_Only to find that he_ _'s still in the flames, the darkening flames, dying and being reborn again. And then dying and reborn again. Death and rebirth, ad infinitum. All the while, M'gann watches, a deadness to her eyes._

_It is after the tenth reincarnation that Despero survives long enough to demand an explanation. When she doesn_ _'t answer, he dies again. The next time, he demands again. He dies. He is reborn. He dies. And it continues and continues, until…_

" _Please," he begs._

_M'gann_ _stares down at him, a coldness to her. There is a hole in her heart that will never be filled again, all because of him. She shakes her head._

" _Go," she says. "Go and suffer."_

_She leaves._

* * *

_It is a curse, this power. It is too much._

_At first, she could sense the surface thoughts of unshielded minds, and those alone. Then just the surface thoughts of everyone but the most practiced mind warders, telepaths like herself. And now_ _— now she could sense them all, not just the surface, but the deepest and most inner parts of their mind. There is not a mind in the world she cannot control, cannot invade._

_M'gann doesn't think anything of it, until she encounters Dr. Psycho trying to use his powers to rape a woman. The sheer rage she feels overcomes all her reason and by the time it's gone, Psycho is broken, a drooling man on the ground, stripped of his power. M'gann feels her own power grow, and refuses to admit to herself how addicting it is._

_It_ _'s just one time, she tells herself. One time. Until she finds Psimon trying to break the mind of a young boy for bumping into him. Until she finds Hector Hammond trying to take over Hal Jordan's life again. Until she keeps encountering others like herself, abusing their gifts for their own personal gain, or worse yet, to harm others for the sake of their own satisfaction._

_The thought infuriates her more than anything else. They don_ _'t_ deserve _this gift, she thinks. So she takes it from them. She takes and takes and takes and she doesn_ _'t stop. And the others, they try to stop her, and why can't they_ understand? _This is for everyone_ _'s good! The power is better off with her!_

_She keeps going and going until_ _…until…_

* * *

" _This isn't what he would've wanted, M'gann," and it's Clark,_ of course _it_ _'s Clark._

" _Please, M'gann," and Diana too, and there's Jason as well because Bruce and Dick are both long dead, and so is Tim, "stop this. J'onn would've never approved."_

And why should that matter? _she screams into their minds._ He's dead, he's never coming back! What **he** would think doesn't matter.

You're wrong, _Jason tells her, glaring hard as memories of his lost family bombard her,_ what the dead would think matter very much.

_It cuts, she won_ _'t lie. But she won't let_ Jason _of all people keep that over her._

_She blasts all their minds, not enough to permanently damage, but enough to knock them all away. She doesn_ _'t want to hurt them, they're still her friends, Uncle J'onn's friends, but they don't_ understand. _They will, one day, when they see the fruits of her labor, when they see how much_ good _she_ _'s doing._

_That opinion holds for a little while._

_And then they send the Titans after her._

* * *

_The Justice League is one thing. The Titans are another._

_The League are allies, acquaintances, even friends. But they were her Uncle J_ _'onn's friends first, not hers. The Titans, though? The Titans are_ family. _She has been one of them for so long that she can_ _'t imagine being anything else. The team may change from time to time, people join and leave all the time, but there is no place on Earth she considers home more than a Titans Tower._

_She begs them not to stop her. Not to fight her. They beg back. They can't_ _reach an accord._

_They fight. M'gann_ _will remember it for years to come, haunted by the shame._

_No matter how many times she knocks them down, they keep on getting back up. They_ _'re Titans — that's what they do. Another time, another life, she would've admired it, taken pride in it, because she's a Titan too. Now, however, it's just frustrating. She doesn't want to hurt them. She_ doesn't.

_But they_ _'re not going to stop._

_Until they do, because determination can only match the body so much._

_There's_ _only Conner left at the end. Kon is a psionic himself — what he lacks in telepathy, he makes up in telekinesis tenfold, and his mind is so shielded that M'gann had never been able to bypass it until she got the boost from Uncle J'onn. Now, with all the power at her fingertips, it's an easy thing to flick away._

_She doesn't_ _want to do it. She hesitates. And then…_

Do it, M'gann. _Kon tells her in his own thoughts, weary._ It's the only way you're going to stop me. The only way you're going to stop any of us.

_She stares at him._

_She can't_ _do it._

_So, all she can do is collapse to her knees and cry._

* * *

_They don't_ _imprison her, even though they should. It wouldn't be effective in her case, they say. She's too powerful to be contained, they say. It's all lies. They won't do it, for Uncle J'onn's sake._

_Instead, they force her to atone with '_ _community service'. She's forced to join the Justice League, forced to take Uncle J'onn's seat on the council. She's under constant watch — the Watchtower is her home now, not Titans Tower. When not on missions, her powers are only allowed to connect people together, to heal trauma, not create it. M'gann does it all without complaint, because she's lucky to have this much._

_The years pass. Friends continue to die, or retire. A year before Uncle J'onn_ _it had been Bart and so came Wallace. Garth decides he wants his family more and gives up his seat to Kaldur'ahm. Then Kara falls to Doomsday and Reign, and then Stephanie retires to have a family of her own. Cassie is gone too. Hal Jordan falls and Kyle Rayner takes his place. Then Clark dies, and Kon takes his place, and then Hippolyta dies so Diana goes to Themyscira and brings back Donna in return. Tim died before them all._

_And through it all, M'gann_ _watches, always at arm's length. Every loss hurts, and the hole widens, and M'gann fills it with a new addiction. She settles on Chocos, because Uncle J'onn loved Chocos, and she loves Uncle J'onn, and it gives her a pleasant buzz that helps her forget the pain._

* * *

_It's_ _when Donna comes that Era 2 begins, and things begin to change. Surprisingly, the change begins with Jason. At least, for M'gann._

_Jason is technically the second-most experienced hero on the Council, after Donna. In reality he_ _'s the most experienced because Donna has been on sabbatical for ten years. As far as being_ on _the Council, though, he_ _'s the longest-tenured member. By the time Wallace, the next-tenured member (and, ironically, the youngest member of the Council, if one went by mental ages) had joined, Jason had been a member for three years._

_He also used to be the most controversial member of the Council until M'gann_ _and later Kaldur joined. While the younger members are only tangentially aware of his time as the Red Hood, for older echelons of the superhero community that 'phase' had been an all-too-real memory. There are crimes Jason has committed that might never be fully forgiven. If it weren't the great number of external factors that played a part in the process, including Jason's own solid redemption and atonement, it's doubtful he would've been accepted as Batman, let alone as a member of the Justice League and its Council._

_But that was a decade ago. Now, the feeling has greatly diminished, and while his actions might not be completely forgotten, they've_ _certainly been forgiven. Jason has redeemed himself, Jason has changed, and he's proven that time and again. And while they've never certainly been close before, they are kindred spirits in a way. M'gann imagines that the only reason he hasn't opened to her before is because of that standard Bat Paranoia of his. His father had certainly been the same way, though Jason is better about._

_(M'gann_ _remembers reading the file, the first time she joined the Justice League. How Jason could ever forgive his father after that, she'll never know. It made her wonder if she had ever known the real Bruce Wayne, the real Batman, at all.)_

_There's_ _a certain kindness in letting her probe his mind. His thoughts are dominated by his family — his children, his sister, the army of godchildren and honorary nieces and nephews who call him 'Uncle Jay,' and aren't afraid to ask him for help. The close friends that have helped him become the man he is today. There is darkness and pain, yes, but it's filled with so much love that M'gann feels warmer just by being in it._

_Jason is the first mind she truly melds with in a long time, and he is unquestionably her favorite._

* * *

_After Jason, the others soon follow. If the Batman, by nature the most paranoid superhero on the planet, is willing to trust her with his mind, then what other reservations do they have? Soon M_ _'gann is filled with Kyle's vibrant images and Wallace's incessant chatter, of the pulse of Kaldur's calming waves and the warmth of Donna's bright thoughts. It is Kon, however, that holds the special place in her heart. He has empathy, compassion,_ understanding. _She has not forgotten that day, she never will, and she is glad they_ _'ve managed to reestablish their friendship._

_(And if her heart beats a little faster and her smiles are a little wider, well, who cares? She likes Hiyori, can see how much Kon loves her. Stepping away is a little easier, after that.)_

_M'gann no longer feels so alone. Nothing will ever fill the hole Uncle J'onn left behind, but there's plenty of more space to fill beyond that. And with that, the hole no longer feels so large and hollow, and if there anything she is grateful for, it is that._

* * *

_And then, they die. They all die._

_First it was Kon, and that one always causes M_ _'gann to stifle a sob, because it was so soon after Van was born. Then it's Jason, and even though it's the kind of death he wanted, lung cancer will always be nothing but a cruel way to go. Wallace hurts, and Kyle hurts even more, and then there's Donna and that is the worst of them all because there was a time when M'gann believed she would always have Donna. Then Kaldur retires and he dies and M'gann is alone, alone,_ alone.

_M_ _'gann is last. She is_ always _last. The last of her family, the last of the Martians, and now the last of Era 2. A remnant of an age long gone by, a relic of the past. Was that how Diana felt when Clark died? No wonder she was so ready to leave._

_The memories linger around her for three more years until her end finally comes. Despero, of course, because some fool managed to break the binding she put on the Flame of Py't_ _ar over three decades ago. The constant cycle of dying and resurrecting, the parody of a phoenix's life, has driven him mad. He starts killing and killing and M'gann knows what she must do. The price to pay for revenge is two graves and a grief-stricken girl had made the choice for her a long time ago. And finally, years after she had healed from the loss, the universe has come to collect._

_She says her goodbyes, pays her respects, announces her successor for her seat. She updates her will, parsing her belongings to the few loved ones she has left and the descendants of those she does not. Then she goes to the new Doctor Fate and collects the final item she needs to finally end her war with Despero once and for all._

_They find each other on Mars, because Despero is nothing if not cruel and he wants to end her and her planet in one go, to destroy the legacy of his two greatest enemies. And then, they duel. M'gann_ _has held back for so long, the power she stole brimming at the back of her mind, rarely ever unleashed. But for Despero, who has been enhanced continuously by his flames, it is barely a match. Even with decades of combat experience behind her, she can barely keep up with him._

_But she does, because she has no choice. And eventually, through the creative use of a teleporter, they find themselves at the Flame of Py_ _'tar once again. She clinches him with all her strength, and binds him back into the flames, and draws out a new stone with her mind — one that negates and destroys all mythical properties of an item. Pressed against the chest of Despero as they burn in the basin, it will extinguish the Flame for good. But only if she keeps it pressed to him, and holds him close._

_So, she burns. Like Mars before her. Like Uncle J'onn_ _before her._

_Fire is the death of all Martians, after all._

_(M'gann_ _is always the last to go._

_But still, she goes.)_

* * *

J'onn blinked.

He was still falling. The memories he viewed were still repeating in his mind. It was more than he had ever dared to look at, for anyone before or anyone after. J'onn could ruminate over them for the rest of his life, and he almost does, before he remembers that he still has a job to do. So, righted himself and ascended back up the void.

His arrival to the chamber was greeted by another snarl, but this time, J'onn was prepared. He darted forward, gently taking the struggling M'gann's head, and pressed their foreheads together. The fission of psychic energy between them sparked as he slowly connected their minds again, merging their mindscapes together, synergizing them as one. It is a rare technique, one that only could be initiated by the most powerful and experienced of telepaths. An intimate one too — the last time J'onn performed it had been with his family.

(This woman is family too.)

The other J'onn had done this with M'gann a few times. That means she would be remember, even long after the decades that passed after his death, the feel of his mind. If he could just prove to her that he was _real_ …

The room around them transformed, beginning to resemble the forests of Mars before it all went to hell. Visions of his most private memories begin to play around them. And through it all, their minds remained connected, the bond between them beginning to grow and solidify. A moment stretched on, lasting for what seemed like eternity, until…

"Uncle J'onn?" a small voice whispered.

J'onn pulled his head away, and stared. M'gann was watching him, hope in her gaze and tears in her eyes. Slowly, he nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

Almost immediately, the golden chains that bound her arms shattered as a powerful wave of telepathic energy burst out throughout the mindscape. The merge broke, and J'onn found himself thrown out of the mindscape and back into reality.

* * *

J'onn opened his eyes slowly, gradually blinking them more and more rapidly as he slowly got to his feet. M'gann was kneeling before him, her head down. He crouched down in front of her, gently taking her shoulders. "M'gann?" he said softly.

Slowly, she awoke. And when she did, she stared up at him. "You're him," she noted, "and at the same time…you aren't."

He swallowed. "I am not the J'onn you knew, M'gann. Just a past version of him. But even so…it is good to meet you, my niece."

M'gann placed a tentative hand on his forearm, before suddenly surging upwards to wrap her arms around him. J'onn froze for a moment, before smiling and returning the hug. His heart hasn't felt this light in years. He was…happy.

"I've missed you, Uncle J'onn," M'gann confessed quietly.

J'onn knew he couldn't say the same, because this was the first time they had met from his perspective, so he simply hugged her tighter.

* * *

They lingered in the embrace for only a short while, much to both their regrets. There would be more time to bond later. Unfortunately, right now they were on the job. "What do you remember?" J'onn asked.

M'gann bit the corner of her lip nervously. It was such a human thing to do, J'onn noted fondly. "I remember…Savage. The others. And then…" she used her hand to mimic an explosion. "Light. And then I was stuck in my own mind, trying to fight off the mind control." Her eyes suddenly widened, and her hands went to her mouth. "Oh my God! The others!"

J'onn watched as his niece's eyes glowed scarlet for the second time. After a moment, she began to curse, and grabbed his hand, urging him to fly with her. "They're here! I sensed them fighting!"

The Martian Manhunter bit back a curse. "Savage must have put them under mind control too, and sent them after their own families like he sent you after me."

"He said, right before he transformed us, that while we wouldn't be killing him, we would still be doing a lot of killing," M'gann remembered, her white skin growing eerily paler, "this must've been what he meant."

"We will not let that happen," J'onn stated with conviction. "Who do we go after first?" he asked her.

Miss Martian bit her lip again, thinking the question over for a moment. "Jason," she finally answered after her deliberation.

J'onn raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "Jason?"

"Batman," M'gann elaborated. " _My_ Batman."

"Ah. Gotham Knight."

"Gotham Knight?" she asked, bewildered and slightly amused.

"The superhero identity your friend has been using ever since he came back," J'onn explained.

M'gann tilted her head, letting out a short, breathy laugh. "I should be surprised, but I'm really not. It figures he'd rather make a new one than go back to that one," she said fondly, mostly to herself.

"What do you mean by that?"

She waved him off. "It's nothing, Uncle J'onn. At least nothing that matters anymore. Now c'mon, we need to go." She began floating towards a wall, and after a moment, J'onn followed her.

As they began transversing through the underground maze, J'onn connected their minds again. _Not that I_ _'m protesting, but why do you think going after your Batman first is best?_

_Well, for one, no matter how good a Batman is, he_ _'s still baseline human. He'll be the easiest to subdue, especially since he won't be expecting us._ M'gann sent back over the bond. _For another, he_ _'s the best strategist out of all of us. He'll know what to do next, who we should go after first. And for the last reason…_ she trailed off.

_The last reason?_ J'onn prompted her.

… _Nobody likes fighting family._ M'gann noted wearily. _Not like this, at least. But out of all of us, nobody hates it more than Jason. It_ _…it brings back a lot of bad memories._

J'onn had nothing to say to that. He had a feeling that if he pushed any further, he wouldn't like the answer.

* * *

"An energy pulse mechanism," Dick groaned as he crashed into the ground. "Why the hell do his sticks have an energy pulse mechanism!"

Bruce grunted. Unlike Dick, he had managed to keep enough wherewithal to land on his feet, skidding back on the ground to one knee. "He must've kept it hidden for some reason. Perhaps a secret weapon of some sort?"

"But that thing is powerful!" Dick pointed out as he slowly climbed back to his feet, watching as Jason silently crossed his escrima sticks together. "If he had just blasted all four of us with that at the start, he could've easily taken us all out! There has to be some other reason why he hasn't used it until now!"

His father grunted again, this time in agreement. Together, the two of them engaged Jason again, ignoring the pain their bodies were in. While they had grown more familiar with Jason's style over the course of this fight, it was a paltry advantage compared to the in-depth knowledge Jason had of their own fighting styles, up to and including their double-teaming. And, as shown with powerful pulse of energy he had just used to knock them down, the second Robin had absolutely no issues lording the disparity of technology levels to his benefit at their expense. Especially with a suit that boosted his physical abilities to metahuman levels, which, Dick hazarded to guess, was on Deathstroke's level _at least_.

In short, the fight had not been going well for them at _all_.

Almost instinctively, they had agreed on a plan — disarm him. But that was difficult; Jason, as Gotham Knight, only shifted his weapons occasionally, usually because his fights rarely ever lasted this long. This Jason, this Batman, shifted his weapons _constantly_. He'd slash down with one sword and toss the other up into the air and the next second it would be a stick, brimming with electrical energy as he twisted around to strike them on the side with it. And then he'd merge them both into a single sword and pull it back, and they would just barely manage to evade it, leaving only a graze on their sides.

That was just one of the many complicated maneuvers Jason seemed to have, and moved through them with such quickness and fluidity that even Dick, the acrobat of the family, had a hard time keeping up. This was a man that was not only used to being in a fight, but also being in one on end, with both singular and multiple opponents. Every attack was meant to be swift and temporarily crippling, except now, under Savage's control, they had a lethal edge to them. And with Jason having so many different ones that he could easily flow in and out of, it was becoming increasingly difficult to ward them off. It was only because Bruce and Dick's own combined experience as combatants that they hadn't been killed yet.

Eventually, their luck finally ran out. Jason managed to separate them again, kicking Dick to the side and drawing out a bola pellet from his utility belt, tossing it at his older brother. One look at it and Bruce quickly realized it was not any ordinary bola — it glowed a sickly green as it wrapped around his eldest son, and as Dick struggled to escape it, it shocked him into submission. He wasn't quite knocked out, but the glassy look to his eyes made it clear that he was out of the fight for the time being.

_Enough._ "Stop it, Jason!" Bruce yelled as he charged at his son, "Break out of it!"

If Jason was listening, he either didn't hear him or wasn't in a position to carry out his orders. He engaged Bruce again with the escrima sticks, both of them glowing an eerie silver, pulsing with every hit that Bruce blocked. Then, suddenly, another energy pulse expanded out from them, not as strong or as powerful as the first one but still disconcerting. Bruce shook his head as he stumbled back, just barely managing to block the kick Jason aimed at his head after pocketing his sticks. That had been a faint, however, for the powerful blow to the gut that Jason drove into him with his right hand after using his left to grab purchase on Bruce's suit and pull him forward.

Bruce stifled a gag even as Jason delivered a hammerlock blow to his back, crashing him face first into the ground. Before he could recover, he felt Jason take his right arm, his dominant arm, and stretch it backwards, and giving it a pointed twist. The first Batman bit down a scream as his arm was wrenched out of socket, dislocated, possibly even broken. It was finally too much. He curled into himself, clutching his arm, prone as Jason leisurely grabbed one of his sticks, transforming it into a sword. He held it high above his head, like an executioner's axe, before slashing down.

Only for the blade to be knocked out of his hands by a well placed Birdarang.

Jason glanced at the direction of where the weapon had come from. Cass and Tim were both standing, both looking ready for a fight. Cass had fallen into a stance, once fist stretched out and the other reared back, while Tim had his bo-staff back in hand with a grim look on his face. Jason turned his body fully to face them, now completely ignoring the currently invalid Bruce outside of tossing another bola at him to restrain him. He drew his other stick and shifted it back into a sword.

There was a stillness and then the two sides were clashing. Tim and Cass had been trained as a team at Jason's insistence, citing how they covered each other's weaknesses, so they had some solid combos of their own. But those combos, again, were at Jason's direction — Jason had been training them just as much, if not more than Bruce had been for the past several months. He countered them quickly, breaking them apart and dodging them with almost contemptuous ease. Eventually, Tim retreated to watch while allowing Cass to continue engaging their brother, desiring to form a strategy while she held him off.

Cass' body-reading ability meant that she was having a better time at it than Bruce and Dick had, but it didn't take long for Tim to recognize that Jason still had the advantage. Not only was he able to block her blows, he was able to counter them with his own, many of which Cass was barely able defend herself against. It wasn't just because of the enhancements from the suit, Tim quickly realized — it was because of his foreknowledge again. Cass was the only member of the family to outlive Jason in the last timeline. That means Jason would've been a regular sparring partner of the _adult_ Cass, who was unquestionably infinitely more experienced and skilled than the current version. Compared to her, this Cass must seem woefully inadequate.

_He knows how to fight us better than we know who how to fight him. That is the biggest advantage he has over all of us._ Tim quickly deduced. _So the only way to win_ _…is to fight in a way he_ doesn't _expect us to fight_.

And suddenly, Tim understood _exactly_ what they needed to do.

"Batgirl!" he called out to his sister. She quickly retreated backwards, kicking off Jason's chest for good measure to keep him at bay as she landed back next to her brother and partner. Cass glanced at him, silently asking him to speak. "Switch," he said.

He could see her eyes widen behind her mask, and then she gave him a single nod. The two tensed again, once again facing Jason who was watching them expectedly. Once again, they charged in together — except this time, it was _Cass_ that darted away while Tim faced him head-on. While Jason couldn't express any surprise at this, Tim could tell he was fumbling slightly over this change in tactics. Tim wasn't stupid, he knew he couldn't fight Jason head-on as he currently was, let alone beat him. But he was small and nimble and could keep dodging, a sufficient distraction while Cass used her superior speed to do sneak attacks where she could.

It was usually the other way around, because Tim didn't have the skill Cass had. He could quite easily get killed. But the other way around was what Jason expected, and that wasn't something they could afford to do anymore. Doing what Jason expected here and now would just get them killed by Jason himself. And once the deed was deed, their older brother would never forgive himself for it once he finally came to. Tim had read Vandal Savage's profile before, knew of the man's sadism — he wouldn't have put Jason under his control and sent their brother after them if this wasn't his intention. Tim _refused_ to let that happen.

Even if that mean having to fight Jason himself. Even if that meant having to _beat_ Jason himself.

The strategy worked out well. Jason, for the first time since the fight started, was floundering. Tim could tell he was expecting a bo-staff whenever Cass attacked him with her fists and feet, and whenever he was off-balance Tim would manage to strike him then. Slowly, ever slowly, they were beginning to beat him back. It was a heady feeling that Tim tried not to get drunk off of. They weren't out of the woods yet, after all.

As if to echo his thoughts, Jason retreated back, making a quick bank to grab his discarded sword. He suddenly flicked something on them, and the edges of the blades began glowing a luminescent blue.

Tim and Cass couldn't help it. They stared.

_Energy blades,_ Tim groaned. _Because why the hell not?_

Every time they thought things couldn't _possibly_ get any worse, the universe seemed intent to prove them wrong. With all the different, fantastical weapons at Jason's disposal, the entire fight was starting look like a bad sci-fi movie. Tim lamented his plight even as his sister and him tensed as Jason once again began to furiously approach them.

And then, their brother suddenly and quite literally froze.

"Enough, Jason," an unfamiliar voice, unquestionably feminine, called out.

The siblings whirled around to see Martian Manhunter floating inside their room, next to a bald, white-skinned woman with red eyes, wearing a similar suit to the alien next to her. _Miss Martian_ , Tim quickly deduced, stunned.

Miss Martian flew towards his brother, as Manhunter lifted his frozen form into the air. Slowly, with a flick of her hand, she disarmed him, before straightening out his body into a less awkward position. She cupped his chin, pressing their foreheads together.

Then, to the shock of all the Bats, she disappeared into his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hoped you liked this chapter. It was fun diving into M'gann's head. And yes, she does have some lingering feelings for Kon. It's more of a nod to _Young Justice_ than anything else, and I don't know if it will go anywhere. Kon is still in love with Hiyori, after all, and M'gann would know and respect that.
> 
> Next chapter: the counterattack!


	19. Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With M’gann now free, the counterattack begins.

In many ways, Jason's mindscape was predictable. She doesn't know what it was like before he reformed, before he became Batman and they became close, but ever since M'gann had first entered his head all those decades ago, it's only ever been one place: Wayne Manor. To her, it's instantly recognizable; the Council gathered there regularly, both for business and for pleasure, even long after Jason's death. It was arguably their most frequent meeting spot after the Watchtower itself.

She walked up the steps and phased through the door, entering the foyer and eying the walls critically. She noted that whenever the Pit tried to exert what little influence it had left over Jason, the walls tended start turning a pale green, the shade growing brighter and more intense the more power it had over him. Thankfully, it seemed that the coloring was normal outside of a slight green tint that someone wouldn't even notice unless they were looking for it. It seemed that whatever control Savage had over them hadn't broken Jason's defenses on that front. That was probably why Bruce and the others hadn't been killed by the time Uncle J'onn and her arrived.

Typically, Jason's mental avatar was in the breakfast kitchen, the library, the study, or the Bat-Cave. M'gann checked the first three locations, and found nothing. That left the Cave. She quickly phased through the grandfather clock and descended down the elevator shaft, exiting into the base itself, and froze.

This was not the Cave.

* * *

"How did you manage to break the mind control on her?" Bruce asked as his daughter helped him back to an upright position and started performing some first aid on him, including checking out his arm. Next to them, near the wall, Tim was doing the same for Dick — or at least much as they could around the bola still wrapped around Dick's body. Unlike Bruce's bonds, which were the standard ropes everyone in the family used, the one around Dick glowed green and looked decidedly sturdier. Considering it shocked Dick the moment he tried to struggle, nobody wanted to try anything until they got Jason back and he could safely remove it.

J'onn, who was keeping Jason's still body in a telepathic hold as they waited for his niece to return, glanced at his teammate. "I was getting nowhere in a physical battle, so I forcibly entered her mindscape to free her from the brainwashing. It was difficult, and I nearly failed; in the end, I didn't have the power to break it. M'gann, however, did, so I convinced her of my identity to give her the necessary push, by temporarily merging our minds together. It was enough."

Bruce frowned. "You saw something in there, didn't you?"

"I did," J'onn admitted. "Memories."

"…How bad was it?"

The Martian's brow furrowed. "Bad. I only saw glimpses, but…she has suffered, Batman. All of them have."

The room fell silent for a moment upon hearing that. They were all aware to an extent of Jason's past, but hearing it from someone that had seen it, even if it was just bits and pieces, made it all too real to them. The past few months had made it easier to well, not exactly forget, but look past that, and now it was rearing up again.

"Why did you guys come after us first?" Tim asked after a moment. "Why not the others?"

"Partly because Knight would be the easiest to subdue," J'onn answered, "and partly because M'gann insisted he would know what to do afterward. That he would know what our next move should be." He didn't mention the last reason. Now wasn't the time for that, especially since they were far from being out of the woods yet.

* * *

"What the hell…?" M'gann asked herself as she viewed her surroundings. This was not the Cave. This…she didn't know what the hell what this was. Whatever it was, it could _not_ be a part of Jason's mind — at least not naturally. She could sense it; it felt…wrong. Fake.

It was a hole of some sort. One that wasn't particularly long or wide, but was spectacularly deep. Up above, she could see a pinprick of light, which she presumed was the exit to the Cave, where Jason was, but other than that there was just shadows everywhere. Occasionally, a bat flew overhead, flapping its wings and screeching. M'gann glanced back at where the elevator once was, and was unsurprised to see that it had disappeared. Definitely a trap, one set by Savage in anticipation for either her or Uncle J'onn. She should probably expect similar dealings when they went after the others.

Given no other direction, she began to ascend upwards, glancing at the shadows and keeping her telepathic field active around her. The moment something attacked (and M'gann had no doubt something _would_ attack), she would be able to sense it and properly defend herself. This was the thought that kept her going as she made slow but gradual progress to the light above, which was growing larger and brighter with the more distance she made.

With her situational awareness, it was child's play to block the number of Batarangs and Birdarangs and Wingadings and all those cutely named projectiles that Jason's family were so fond of using. M'gann blasted them away with a wave of telekinetic energy, using her Martian Vision to spy on the attackers. The first Batman, the first Nightwing, the first Red Robin, the fourth Robin, and Black Bat, younger than the one M'gann knew. All dangerous, but hardly a threat to her.

She continued her ascent. The third Batgirl, the first Batwoman, the Signal, Batwing, even the first Batgirl were all there. She repelled them as well, as she burst through the light and finally, into the Bat-Cave.

Except not. There was a hall now, with several guarding it. Jason's children. Carrie, the third Batwoman. Helena, the second Huntress. Matty, the eighth Robin.

Terry, the fourth Batman.

They were stronger than the others. The strongest of Jason's defenses. And unfortunately, whatever Savage did to them meant they did not recognize her, much like those before them. She cannot simply blast them off. She had to actually _fight_.

Predictably, Matty moved first. As the Robin of the group, he provided the initial distraction while the others fell into position. M'gann has worked with enough Bats over the years to know their general tactics. She calmly repelled him with a telekinetic shield and blocked the two kicks Carrie and Helena tried to deliver to both sides of her. She covered both her back and and her top with similar shielding, and sure enough, Terry landed on the latter, slamming a powerful fist against the barrier. Energy pulsed from all four of the blows, shimmering the air. M'gann expanded all the shields with force, sending the four vigilantes spiraling away, landing on their feet.

Jason trained them well.

But no amount of training can compensate for the sheer disparity in power. M'gann telekinetically grabbed them, and slammed them all into the walls. It took some effort, but she telepathically forced herself into their minds (or at least what counted as minds for mental constructs) and knocked them out. Once she was sure they were out, she gently lowered them onto the ground and continued on her way. She exited the hall, and finally, she was in the Cave.

Facing Donna.

Because _of course_ it couldn't be that easy.

She quickly dodged a swipe of Donna's sword and turned invisible, floating into the air. Donna's eyes flickered around, and then she sheathed the sword, in favor of summoning her photonic blasts. She began to fly up herself and spin around, creating a powerful volley that not even M'gann could dodge for long. Instead, she's forced to create another shield, which Donna quickly used to locate her.

The Amazon slammed into her, and M'gann dropped the invisibility in favor of grappling with the mental construction of her friend. A fight, a _real_ fight, between the two of them could last for hours, and she doesn't have that kind of time. So, M'gann took in a deep breath and threaded her telepathy into the mind of this construct, letting out three gentle pulses of energy. Donna stopped struggling, and let her go.

M'gann descended to the floor of the Cave and began approaching the direction of where the Bat-Computer should be. A barrier had been erected around it, a luminous blue with a single door. As M'gann closed in on the door and reached out to grab the knob, a small hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"You can't go in there," Penelope Todd-Wayne told her, "Dad is trying to fight off something. He can't be disturbed."

Miss Martian's expression softened upon the sight of the young girl who she knew as the third Wonder Woman. Jason would've been so proud of her. "I know. I'm here to help him break free."

Penelope tilted her head. "Who are you?"

The heroine smiled as she crouched done and placed two fingers on one of the construct's temples. A small pulse of energy leaked out, and when she's done, Penelope looked up at her and smiled. "Aunt M'gann!" she squealed cheerfully, and threw her arms around M'gann's neck.

"Hello, Penelope. It's good to see you too."

After a moment, Penelope let her go and glanced at the door. She reached out and turned the knob, and lets M'gann in.

* * *

Jason was sitting on the chair in front of the Bat-Computer, shirtless and his arms shackled to the handles by golden chains. His legs were similarly chained to the computer, and he's struggling hard. M'gann quickly rushed to him, and he similarly notices her presence. "M'gann?" he asked, shocked.

"Jason," M'gann replied, smiling. "It's good to see you again, old friend." She reached out and grabbed his shoulder, giving it a fond squeeze.

"How…?"

"Savage, Jason. Remember?"

Jason blinked, and then his eyes harden. "I do." He looked down at the chains. "Could you please get these off me? We have work to do."

M'gann nodded. She grabbed the chain…and lets go.

* * *

Outside, in the corporeal world, the rest of the Bats along with Martian Manhunter waited anxiously for M'gann to return. Finally, after a moment, her form exited out of Jason's a she gave a nod to J'onn. He placed Jason on the ground and released his telekinetic grip on him, after a moment, the man's head slowly tilted upwards. Every present could just sense him blinking, trying to regain his wits about him.

He looked around, his gaze almost immediately landing on the injured forms of his family. Jason was by their side in an instant, practically ignoring the Martians in favor of checking them out. He did a double take when he saw Dick, and then took out a remote of some sort and pointed it at his older brother, clicking on it. Almost immediately the bola unwrapped around Nightwing's form and receded into a single glowing green pellet, which landed onto his lap. Dick inhaled a breath of relief. "What is that?" he asked, picking up the pellet.

"Energy bola," Jason answered, now checking out Bruce. He glanced at Tim. "Only another energy weapon can cut through its lines. It's a good thing you waited for me — if you had tried that with a batarang or something else, it would've shocked you _and_ Nightwing." Tim grimaced upon hearing that.

The third Batman then refocused on Bruce, frowning at the way his father held his right arm. "It's dislocated. I can reset it, if you want."

Bruce grunted, which Jason knew was an affirmative. Carefully, he had Cass and Tim help him set their father on his back. Then, he pulled the arm into a 90 degree angle and made a slow and steady pull. They watched Bruce grind his teeth throughout the procedure, and after he finally gave the nod, Jason took out a cloth from his utility belt and fashioned a sling for it as his younger siblings helped their father sit back up. Within minutes, Bruce's arm was in the sling and he was getting back to his feet.

Dick, M'gann, and J'onn, who had crowded around them during the resetting, quickly joined them. Jason went and stood next to M'gann, taking comfort in his friend's presence. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

Almost immediately, Dick reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Don't," he said firmly, "it wasn't your fault."

"But—" Jason glanced around desperately at his family, who all had similarly mulish expressions.

"It _wasn_ _'t_ your fault," Tim repeated. Cass put her hands on her hips and even Bruce gave him a look. Jason sighed.

"Fine," he replied with reluctant finality. He then glanced at M'gann, suddenly all business. "What's the situation?"

"I managed to do an entire scan of the island," she started, ignoring the startled glances everyone else gave her, "most of our teammates are down here, fighting members of their respective families. All except the Supermen — they're dueling up above the island. Everyone else that came with for the rescue mission is currently fighting an army of supervillains on the island itself."

"Any casualties?" _Has anyone died?_

"As far as I can tell, no."

Jason would have released a breath of relief, had he not recognized the pensive expression on his friend's face. "What is it, Miss Martian?"

M'gann rubbed her arm nervously. "I can't sense Lantern."

Jason froze. "Are you sure?" he asked, just barely managing to keep the desperation out of his voice. It didn't work, judging by the looks everyone was now shooting at him.

"I'm certain. He isn't anywhere on the island right now, Batman."

The third Batman put a hand to his helmet, where his forehead would be. " _Shit._ "

"Do you think he's dead?" Bruce asked, stepping forward.

Jason lifted his head. "No. He's alive, and he's probably under Savage's control. But if Savage hasn't sent him out yet to fight anyone, then that means he must be at full strength too."

He didn't need to say more than that. The injuries of his family made it very clear how dangerous Jason was at full strength, in full gear, and that was just _him_ — technically a normal human, a baseline vigilante. Not to mention M'gann, whose telepathy and general skill and strength surpassed even J'onn's, to the point that the other Martian fully admitted to invading her mind out of desperation. If that was a taste of the strength of Era 2, and if _they_ were expressing worry over facing their Lantern…well.

"We can't do anything about it right now," Jason decided after a moment. "We don't know where he is, and even if we did there's no way we'd be able to subdue him with just us. We need to get the others first."

"Who should we go after next?" Dick asked, only to wince as his body ached in pain.

Jason glanced at the four other vigilantes and shook his head. "Not you four. You're too injured right now to be of any help. Just stay here with Manhunter — I take it you're connected to Miss Martian right now?"

The older Martian nodded.

"Good. Keep that connection open, and protect these four, make sure they don't do anything reckless. We'll send your teammates and whoever else they have with them here while we collect ours. After that, you can pick out who can and can't fight and send them up to help the others." He then shifted his attention to M'gann. "We're going after Aquaman first. He'll be the easiest after me. Then Flash — Aquaman will be able to disrupt his footing, long enough to give you an opening to break the mind control on him. Together, the four of us should be able to handle Wonder Woman, and once we have her, we can handle Superman."

Jason then returned his attention to his father. "Once we have Superman, we'll join you in dealing with the army. I have a feeling that Savage just brought them in to wear us down so Lantern could finish us off, so try to conserve as much energy as possible. Anyone that can't fight anymore will need to get out of dodge immediately, okay?"

Bruce stared at him for a moment, before slowly nodding. Jason finally exhaled a sigh. "Great. Great," he glanced at M'gann again, "Take us to Aquaman, Miss Martian."

M'gann didn't need to hear anything else. She picked Jason up by the shoulders and flew away, phasing him through one of the walls. The remaining five stared at where they exited for a moment.

"By God, he really was Batman," Dick stated, torn between shock and pride and just a little bit of sadness.

"Indeed," J'onn acknowledged stoically.

Bruce said nothing.

* * *

_This really could be going better_ , Garth thought to himself as one of Queen Mera's redirected hydrokinetic blasts slammed into him. He was sent flying away for the nth time in this fight, twirling in the air like a rolling pin.

"Garth!" Mera called out in concern and guilt. Next to her, Arthur charged forward and reengaged Kaldur, having managed to retake his trident sometime during the fight. The two men fought for a bit, until Kaldur kicked off his bare chest to create some more distance.

Then he suddenly leapt up and held out his hand to the water below, which subsequently froze entirely, encasing his opponents' feet in solid ice.

The three Atlanteans gaped down at their suddenly frozen appendages. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me," Garth said, dropping all propriety in favor of sheer disbelief.

Kaldur approached them menacingly, only to catch something from the periphery of his eye. He jumped back to dodge a pair of batarangs thrown at him, which buried into the ice and subsequently exploded, leaving cracks everywhere. The Atlanteans turned their heads to spot an unfamiliar woman and a very-odd looking Batman running towards their opponent full-speed. "Stop, Aquaman!" the Batman ordered in a modulated voice.

It didn't take. Kaldur did not stop. No, instead Kaldur charged at them instead, and began engaging Batman in hand-to-hand combat. The two exchanged blows for a bit until Batman drew a stick and released a pulse of energy at him, sending him flying for a bit. He landed on his feet, skidding and sliding along the ice, and dodged an energy bola that was thrown at him. That, however, gave the woman an opening. She slammed a powerful kick into his jaw from above, followed by trying to restrain him as a squid.

As those two began to fight, Batman turned his attentions to Arthur and the others. "Tempest!" he barked to the former sidekick. Tempest was startled. "Can you still produce heat energy?"

"Y-Yes! With my left hand!"

"Start melting yourself out, and if you finish before me, then do Queen Mera! I'll handle King Arthur!" He brought out a lighter for good measure, which produced a white flame.

As Garth started obeying his orders, the Batman crouched down and started placing the flame near Arthur's feet, which gradually began melting the ice. Arthur glanced down at him speculatively, before his eyes widened in realization. "Knight?" he breathed out.

Batman glanced up at him, the flame still melting the ice. "Yes," he confirmed. Garth and Mera both stared at him, shocked.

"How—?"

"Martian Manhunter managed to break Savage's control on Miss Martian," he gave a nod towards the woman, who now had vine arms wrapped around Kaldur's feet that she was using to try and trip him up. "Together, they managed to break Savage's control on me. Now, we're going to need your help to break his control on Kaldur."

"Can't she just do it now?" Mera asked, biting her lip.

"No. The technique needs a lot of concentration, so Kaldur needs to be immobilized first." He looked down at Arthur's feet. "Okay, that should be enough. Can you break your feet out of the ice?"

Arthur pulled his legs up with all his might, and it was like taking a foot out of slush. Thankfully, his boots managed to prevent any serious damage, and he was still capable of moving freely with minimal pain.

"Go," Jason told him, now walking towards Mera, "help Miss Martian. I've got things handled here."

The King of Atlantis silently agreed, and ran forward. Thankfully, M'gann noticed him first and floated back, allowing Arthur free reign to throw himself at the other man, wrapping his arms around his torso with all his strength to restrain him. Kaldur struggled, of course, trying to wrench one of his arms free, but Arthur wouldn't budge.

It was enough. M'gann floated down gently, and placed her forehead into Kaldur's, disappearing into his head. The third Aquaman fell limp. Slowly, Arthur laid him onto the ice as he waited for M'gann to finish her work.

Gradually, the others began to join him. Jason had managed to melt the ice around Queen Mera's feet, while Garth had freed himself. Together, they gathered around Kaldur's body, waiting anxiously. Jason did manage to bully all three of them into letting him look them over and dress their injuries in the mean time, however. The last thing they needed was someone dying of completely preventable infection or blood loss.

Finally, after several minutes, M'gann popped out of Kaldur's body, landing on a crouch next to him. This was followed by a groan from Kaldur, which caused the tension to heighten ever so slightly.

Slowly, the hybrid opened his eyes. "M'gann…?"

"I'm here, Kaldur," the Martian said, helping him to his feet. Kaldur blinked as he got used to the light again, gazing at his surroundings.

"Jason…?" he asked, which was answered with a nod by his friend. "And…Garth? Queen Mera? But why are you so young—no, wait, now I remember, Savage. Then…" he finally turned around to face Arthur, and froze.

" _My King_ ," Kaldur said reverently, joyful tears beginning to water in his eyes.

Arthur's eyes bulged out as he watched the other Aquaman, his alleged successor and former protege, fall to one knee before him, bowing his head. From above Kaldur's head, he could just feel Batman (Knight?) giving him a look that promised pain if he messed this up, while Miss Martian merely sighed, unsurprised.

"Allow me to pledge my sword and my loyalty to you again, My King. I swear to you that I will not fail you again," Kaldur beseeched.

The aforementioned king swallowed. "If that is your wish, then I accept your pledge." It was almost a relief to feel Knight's glare fade away. The man was far too much like his father. "Rise."

Kaldur did so, smiling and tearful. Arthur felt the awkwardness within him triple. He could sense the same happening with Mera and Garth, and was grateful for the solidarity even as he cursed their uselessness.

Luckily, Kaldur's teammates could read the mood. Miss Martian placed a hand on her Aquaman's shoulders, instantly earning his attention. "We need to go, Kaldur. We need to free the others from Savage's control."

"Right," Kaldur agreed, face now completely serious. "Who next? Flash?"

"Yes. You'd be the best suited to immobilize him," Jason replied, handing him his waterbearers.

Garth did a double take. "When did you get those?" They had been disarmed from Kaldur a while ago and all of them had more-or-less forgotten about them.

"After I melted out Queen Mera. You were too busy staring at Kaldur to notice," Jason answered him, before turning back to Arthur. "Miss Martian is going to connect you to Martian Manhunter. He'll come pick you three up. We're going to go after the Flashes now." Not waiting for a reply, he gave a nod to M'gann, who lifted them both up with her telekinesis and placed one hand on each of their shoulders, phasing them through the walls.

* * *

It quickly became obvious upon arrival that the Flashes were in worse-off shape than even the Bats. That was represented by Jay Garrick, who looked bruised, beaten, and unconscious, with a dribble of blood leaking from his mouth. The three superheroes stared at him for a moment. _M_ _'gann,_ Jason said over their mental link.

M'gann obeyed the silent order, letting Jason down so he could approach Garrick and deliver first aid. As he was doing that, Kaldur and her turned their attentions to the battle between the speedsters, and winced — Wally and Bart were not having a good time of it, judging by how their suits were torn and how Wallace had just grabbed Bart by the foot and was now slamming him across every surface he could find. M'gann dropped off Kaldur as well, while turning herself invisible so Wallace couldn't sense her.

"Flash!" Kaldur yelled, bringing all three speedsters' attention to him. "Stop!"

Wallace stared at him for a moment, dropping a yelping Impulse and giving him a solid kick to the head for good measure, before dodging another tackle from Wally. He suddenly sped towards Kaldur, and it was only because of Kaldur's amazing reflexes that the Atlantean managed to draw a water bearer and direct some of the liquid onto the floor, freezing it. Wallace slipped upon the ice, and Kaldur dove to the side as his opponent inadvertently passed Jason and crashed into a wall.

The speedster recovered quickly however, and flipped to his feet. He made to run on the walls instead, but was quickly slammed into one of them by an invisible force — a telekinetic blast from M'gann. He was held there until Kaldur approached, but before he could be frozen to the wall he manage to use his considerable willpower to wrench an arm free and snap one of his hands, creating a sonic boom that rammed them into the other side of the room. Almost immediately, M'gann's invisibility dropped as Kaldur and her fell to their knees. The telekinetic grip on Wallace vanished. He immediately took advantage, and grabbed his two aggressors by the throat.

The distraction cost him. Wally, who had been watching the fight from the sidelines to make sure Kaldur and M'gann were on his side, intervened. He caught Wallace by the waist, skidding them both onto the floor as M'gann and Kaldur landed on their feet. He pinned down his cousin with all his weight, making sure to lock Wallace's hands with his own so he couldn't snap his fingers and create another shockwave. Wallace vibrated as he tried to get free, trying to phase through, and Wally vibrated back to cancel it out.

M'gann then phased through _him_ and into Wallace, causing the man to fall limp. Wally blinked, and flinched when a gentle but firm hand grasped his shoulder. He looked up to see that it was Kaldur. "It's fine," the Atlantean told him, "she's breaking the mind control Savage has him under. You can get off him now."

Wally continued to stare at him even as he got up. "You're…"

"Kaldur'ahm, though you may call me Kaldur," Kaldur replied, smiling. He held out his hand. "The second Aqualad and the third Aquaman, after your friend Garth. It's nice to meet you again, Wally West."

The third Flash blinked before smiling back, taking the hand gratefully. "It's good to meet you too."

After the greetings were exchanged, Kaldur crouched down and picked up Wallace into his arms, carrying him bridal style. Wally and him then went over to where Jay was still being treated by Jason, with Impulse hovering worriedly next to him.

"Ishegoingtobeokayishegoingtobeokay…?" the youngest speedster present rambled.

Jason astutely ignored him as he continued treating Jay, even as Kaldur gently laid Wallace next to the Golden Age hero. Finally, after he finished wrapping Jay's torso, he stood up, looking at both the worried Wally and Bart. "He's going to be fine," he reassured them, causing both speedsters to relax in relief. "A low grade concussion, some cracked ribs, a number of bruises and cuts — but nothing his healing factor can't handle, even with his advanced age."

"Thank you," Wally blurted out, grabbing the taller man's shoulders. "Thank you so much…" his eyes widened in realization. "Knight?"

The Batman nodded. "Hello, Flash. Before you two ask, Nightwing and Robin are fine. A bit banged up, but fine."

"So you too were…?" Wally didn't finish, but the question was clear.

"Yes," Jason confirmed. "According to M'gann, everyone is currently fighting their respective families or the army of supervillains up on the main island. J'onn managed to break through to her, and she broke through to me. Together, we helped deal with Kaldur, and then we came here to you, for Wallace." He glanced down at his still slumbering friend.

Who then suddenly sat up, panting heavily, as M'gann exited his mind. "Seriously, the Bamboo Incident?" Wallace demanded angrily.

M'gann shrugged while Jason and Kaldur winced. "It's your own fault for not believing me," she told him, completely unsympathetic.

"You know I still have nightmares about the pandas!" The speedster went cross-eyed. "So. Many. _Pandas_ …" He shuddered.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get up, Wallace. We're on a time crunch."

"Time—Savage, right," Wallace sighed, as he got to his feet and dusted off his knees. He glanced up, and froze as he saw the state of his fellow speedsters, especially Jay.

"Wally…Bart…Jay…" he put his hands on the sides of his head in horror. "Did I…?"

Wally stopped him, putting his hands on his younger cousin's shoulders. "We're fine, Wallace. We'll survive."

"But…"

He was silenced by his cousin wrapping his arms around him in a hug. Wallace stilled for a moment, before his eyes began to tear up and he returned the embrace fiercely. "I missed you, Wally," he choked out.

The older speedster didn't say anything, just hugged the other man tighter. After a minute or so, they let go, and exchanged a final smile before Wally walked out of the way to show Bart and Jay, who was beginning to come to. Without warning, Wallace sped towards the former, latching onto him with a hug and ignoring the teenager's flailing arms. "Wallace…!" Bart yelped.

"I've missed you as well, Bart," Wallace admitted. Upon hearing that, Bart sighed and stopped his struggling, returning the gesture.

After a minute, Wallace let go, clapping a hand on the boy's shoulder before crouching down to look at Jay. The older man was now near full consciousness, and he tilted his head to look at the latest of his successors, quirking up a smile when Wallace gently took his hand and squeezed. "Hey there, slugger."

"Hey, Jay. Sorry about all…" Wallace grimaced as he gestured to all of Jay's injured form, "…this."

"Eh, it's alright. I've had…" the older speedster coughed, "…worse. It'll take a lot more than that to take me out."

Wallace chuckled. "Don't I know it."

Jay crinkled his eyes a bit, then laid his head back onto the wall. "Go save your friends, Wallace. We'll be fine." With that said, he closed his eyes.

The fifth Flash swallowed and nodded, standing back up. He glanced at Jason and the others, his expression turning serious. "Who's next?"

"Donna, and then Kon," Jason answered, nodding at Wally and Bart, who stiffened upon hearing the names.

"Not Kyle?" Kaldur asked, raising an eyebrow.

While they couldn't see it behind Jason's helmet, both M'gann and him grimaced as they exchanged a look. Wallace, quickly realizing what it meant, groaned, while Kaldur simply gave out a sigh. "Of course Savage would save him for last," their speedster grumbled.

"Well, we'll deal with it when it's time," Jason stated, ending the conversation. He turned to Wally. "M'gann is going to link you to J'onn, and he'll guide you over to my chamber. That's where everyone currently underground is gathering after they're respective opponents were released from Savage's control. Be careful with moving Garrick — he might be healing but he's still a little fragile, so try to go only at half your usual speed at most when you transport him. We're going to go after Donna, and depending on the current state of Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl, we may need you and Impulse to come over and transport them as well."

Wally nodded grimly. Satisfied, Jason turned to M'gann and gave her a nod. She lifted Kaldur and him, and phased them through one of the walls. Wallace gave a two-fingered salute to his family, before following her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I thought about continuing the chapter here but decided to cut it off. We've reached the requisite range and this seemed like a good place to stop. I hoped you liked the reunions everyone had. I had a lot of fun writing this.
> 
> And yes, more allusions to Kyle. If you've read the Green Lantern comics, you probably have a decent idea of where this is going, but I'll still keep mum for now.
> 
> Next chapter: Donna and Kon.


	20. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Era 2 Justice League is almost complete.

Cassie Sandsmark was the daughter of an accomplished archaeologist who specialized in Ancient Greece. For that reason alone, she would never admit to having watched the notoriously historically-inaccurate _Troy_ movie, nor admit to owning the extended edition. No matter how epic the set pieces, no matter how hot Brad Pitt and Eric Bana were.

That being said, if she had to compare the current battle between the two Wonder Women to any cinematic fight, it would have to be the climatic duel between Achilles and Hector in _Troy_ — with Donna playing the role of the former, and Diana the latter. They had both managed to recover their swords and shields, and once again were engaged in fierce combat. Sword to sword, sword to shield, shield to shield, and Cassie, with her barely-trained eyes, could hardly keep up. It was an epic thing to see, and Cassie would've delighted in it if it weren't for the fact that Diana was currently fighting for her life and _losing_.

Donna was simply too strong. She was already close to Diana's level as a fighter before the time travel, but after she was her equal if not her outright superior in skill. And whatever Savage did to her to transform her into her prime had only increased her strength, speed, agility, all beyond even Diana. Combined with the photonic blasts and God knows whatever other abilities she had at her disposal, and Diana was simply outmatched on practically every level. And Cassie…Cassie had been no help. Just a nuisance to be slapped around.

It was disheartening. Maybe, if she had full access to her demigod powers, she might've been able to make a difference, but as it were, she might as well not be there at all. It made her remember Donna's own promise to train her, the promise to eventually release the seal on her powers, and hardened her resolve. If she survived this, she would ask Donna to up her training so she could reach that level faster. She never wanted to be helpless like that ever again.

Cassie looked up upon hearing a loud _clang!_. The shields had been discarded for swords only now, and the two sisters were beginning to speed up their movements as they began exchanging slashes and swings, matching each other blow-for-blow. Sparks danced across the surfaces of their blades as they continued to clash, fierce expressions on their faces. Cassie knew that to them, she was no longer there — it was just Donna and Diana, and no one else.

Eventually, fists and kicks were added. Donna, of course, initiated that, using a sword and a foot to lock down Diana's own sword before slamming a powerful backfist into her sister's face. Diana stumbled, but still managed to keep a firm grip on her blade. She wrenched it out of Donna's hold, forcing the younger woman to let go of it lest she get one of the few unarmored parts of her leg to be cut. The older Amazon wiped away the blood that started dribbling down the corner of her mouth and charged back into the fray, with Donna meeting her eagerly.

The sound of sliding metal and powerful blows greeted Cassie's ears. Despite Diana's best efforts, Donna had the advantage here too, not afraid to keep moving, to keep attacking. Eventually, Diana deemed the swords an unnecessary weight, a disadvantage of sorts, and with not too little difficulty, managed to disarm Donna. Of course, it was a short-lived victory, because Donna quickly retaliated with disarming her in turn, and kicked away the sword so Diana could not reach back for it. Diana ducked under a powerful swing and tried to sweep Donna's legs — her sister dodged, but it did allow Diana the chance to kick away her opponent's sword too.

It had all come down to this. Hand-to-hand combat. The woman circled each other, hands outward and twitching, before locking up and beginning to wrestle for control. Diana suddenly broke the lock in favor of trying to grab Donna by the waist, perhaps for a suplex of some sorts, but Donna blocked it, slamming her heel down on Diana's foot. The older woman grimaced, allowing Donna follow up with an elbow to the jaw. Diana was once again sent stumbling, rubbing her aching jaw, and suddenly leaned back to avoid a front kick.

The two women began circling each other again, fists at the ready like they were in a boxing match. Donna took the initiative now, throwing three quick successive jabs into Diana's guard, followed up with a side kick. The first Wonder Woman blocked the blows and retaliated with two quick uppercuts and then a hook, which were dodged in return. They continued to circle each other, each throwing successive combinations with kicks thrown in for good measure, each of whom were either dodged or block by both women. The stalemate ended with a mutual cross-counter, two jabs thrown and connecting, forcing them both back.

Unfortunately, Diana was by far the more injured of the two, and Donna was as ruthless as ever. Cassie cringed as Donna recovered quickly and kicked the still recovering Diana directly into the chin, once again forcing more spittle to spew from her mouth. She followed up with two successive hooks, then pawing at Diana's shoulder with one hand as she threw more jabs into her left eye, swelling it closed. Diana gave her a desperate push with all her strength to create distance, putting back up a weak guard, but Donna simply slapped it away and finished Diana off with a powerful overhand punch that sent her to her elbows and knees.

Diana stayed down there, coughing up blood on the ground, as Donna roughly grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head up. She kneed Diana directly into the face, forcing the other woman on her back and completely taking the fight out of her. Diana could only look up helplessly as her brainwashed sister held up a single hand, charged with an increasingly bright photon blast, ostensibly to finish her off.

"STOP, DONNA!"

Donna froze, and then suddenly burst into the sky to dodge a red blur with red lightning trailing after it. Diana watched, shocked, as the blur stilled to reveal a Flash, one she didn't recognize. _Wallace_ , her mind unconsciously supplied, _this is Wallace West. The Fifth Flash._

Wallace gazed down at her grimaced. Before the Amazon knew it, she was scooped up into his arms and sped over to another section of the chamber, near a wall. Wallace set her against the wall as gently as he could, before speeding away and bringing back a confused Cassie to do the same to her. He was gone in another blur, speeding towards the direction of Donna (of whom, in the distance, Diana could see was fighting another man in orange and some invisible person). Before she could call out to him, another figure dropped in front of her, this one dressed darkly. She glanced up, and her eyes widened even further.

A Batman.

"Jason…" she said quietly, before coughing out some blood. Jason immediately crouched down next to her and began doing a diagnostic, taking out a first aid pack as he was doing so.

"She really did a number on you, didn't she?" Jason noted, cringing behind his helmet.

"Not me…Cassie first…" Diana told him, wincing.

Next to her, Cassie shook her head furiously. "No, Diana. You're way more injured than me. You should be first priority."

"She's right, Diana," Jason agreed. "You need more immediate aid. Cassie should be healing on her own right now anyway."

"Wait, seriously?" Cassie asked, suddenly looking down at her hands. She glanced at the bruises and cuts, touching one, and blinked when she realized they were visibly beginning to fade and close. "How?"

"One of the first things Donna did after Zeus granted her control over the seal on your powers was to release your healing factor," Jason explained as he began dabbing alcohol on some of Diana's cuts. "Despite the possibility of you running into a fight that was out of your weight class being relatively high considering the current situation, she still couldn't risk you having full access to your other abilities until you had the necessary skill, control, and maturity. But, if you had access to your healing factor, you would at least be able to survive that kind of fight long enough to get help." He gave a nod to Diana. "As you can see, it was the right choice."

Cassie swallowed. "And now?"

"It's possible she might give you access to your invulnerability," Jason admitted. "Granted, you won't be invulnerable to everything, but it would still be hell of a lot more than what you had today."

The current Wonder Girl let out a shuddering breath. Something, indeed. She glanced at the battle being waged far away from them, biting her lip. "What are they doing over there?"

"They're trying to restrain Donna, so M'gann can enter her mind and break Savage's control, like she did with the rest of us and like how J'onn did with her."

"Oh," Cassie said. Then, "I think I'll go help them." She ran off.

Almost immediately, Jason stopped his treatment of Diana in favor of whirling his head around to stare at the fleeing teenager. "NO CASSIE! STOP! COME BACK!"

Before he could say more, he felt Diana tug at wrist. He glanced back at her, and saw her smiling. "Go. Help them," she told him. "Bring back my sister."

"But—"

"I'll be fine for a few more minutes, Jason. Go."

Jason hesitated for a moment, before nodding. He turned on his heel, and ran.

* * *

The first thing Cassie did was go and pick up Diana's Lasso of Truth. She then ran towards Donna, careful to keep out of sight, twisting the Lasso in her hands and the throwing it up in the air, preparing to leash the older woman's legs.

Before she could, however, Donna suddenly swiveled around, her gaze zeroing in on the teenage girl. Cassie froze as she saw those glowing white hands aimed at her. Before she could so much as think of moving, someone else grabbed her, rolling away as they dodged the blast. Cassie shook her head and glanced up at her savior — a handsome man with dark skin, blond hair and pale green eyes. The Aquaman. He gave her an admonishing look, but didn't say any further, instead pushing her away to help them both escape another volley of light blasts.

Cassie tumbled away, lasso still in hand. She spotted Donna once more aiming for her, and tried to run away. Donna was faster, though, and Cassie let out a yelp as the ground beneath her exploded. She was caught, however, by Wallace, who grabbed her just in time and began outrunning the barrage, going as far as run on the walls. When he began nearing Diana, however, he banked forward, which unfortunately began closing the distance between him and Donna. Another barrage followed, and this time Wallace was forced to throw Cassie away, much like Kaldur before him, so they both wouldn't get hit.

This time, Cassie was prepared for it, and she landed on her feet, digging her heels in so she didn't skid back. She looked up, and saw Donna glaring down at her, and pulled the lasso taut. She began flying up herself, awkwardly dodging photon blast after photon blast and just barely managing, all while searching for an opening to put her plan into action. Finally, Cassie managed to bank behind Donna, and used the opportunity to try lasso the former Wonder Girl's legs.

Donna, however, made a whirlwhind by spinning herself rapidly, and it repelled the golden rope. She made a sudden stop, and put her hands together to fire one massively charged photon blast directly at Cassie. Cassie, knowing she wasn't fast enough to dodge, held up her hands to block it — in so much that she wouldn't get too injured.

But the pain never came. The blast repelled against some kind of invisible barrier, and Cassie felt a light touch in her mind. _You shouldn_ _'t be here, Cassie_ , a gentle voice told her, _This fight is out of your league._

_Who are you?_ Cassie didn't have much experience with telepaths, but for some reason it was just easy to talk to this woman without talking at all.

The air in front of her shimmered, and ever so briefly, Cassie could see the outline of a woman. _M_ _'gann M'orzz, or Miss Martian. And again, you shouldn't be here, Cassie._

_I want to help!_ The teenager shouted back in her mind stubbornly. Before M'gann could respond, Donna tried to blast them again, and the Martian was forced to reinforce the barrier.

_Fine._ She sounded exasperated. Young superheroes willingly getting into fights well out of their weight class was, unfortunately, a common event in her lifetime. _What_ _'s your plan?_

_Well, what_ _'s your goal?_

M'gann sighed again. _We need to restrain Donna long enough for me to invade her mind and break Savage_ _'s control on her. Once I'm in, however, she should stop putting up a fight._

Cassie looked down at the lasso in her hands. _If that_ _'s the case, then I think I have an idea._

* * *

Jason snarled beneath his helmet as he approached Kaldur, who had his water-bearers drawn as he continued to blast Donna with a steady stream of highly-pressurized water. "Where is she?" he demanded.

Kaldur gave him a look before nodding towards the sky, where Cassie was circling beneath Donna's feet. Jason knew better than to call out to her, but that didn't stop him from glaring. _What_ _'s the plan?_ he asked with his mind.

_We_ _'re going to lasso her feet together and try to bring her down with our collective strength._ Wallace explained, speeding around to draw Donna's attention. _That should distract her long enough for M_ _'gann to get the drop on her._

_Fine. I take it Cassie is doing the lassoing?_

_Well, she does have the most practice at it out of all of us_ _…_

Jason muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

After a few minutes, Cassie seemed to have found what she was looking for. She started spinning the lasso next to her before throwing it all her might, managing to catch both of Donna's legs. Then she pulled the loop taut and started rushing as fast as she could to where Kaldur and Jason were. Donna, thankfully, had been caught unawares and that was unable to right herself in time — by the time she did, Cassie, Jason, Kaldur, and Wallace were all pulling on the lasso with all their strength. As she fought against them, trying to pull away, M'gann, still invisible, gave her a powerful kick to the head, knocking her looping, before dropping her invisibility and grabbing the Amazon's shoulders. She pressed their foreheads together, and then she was gone.

Almost immediately, Donna began to drop, but they had a speedster on hand. Wallace grabbed her, bending his knees to lessen the impact, and then sped her over back to everyone else. Jason carefully took her from his hands, and as a group they began walking towards the direction of Diana. The Batman lingered so he was behind the group, level with Cassie, who had waited a moment to roll up the lasso around her arm. "Cassie, first things first: good job."

Cassie brightened.

"Second thing: _never_ do that again."

And just like that, she deflated like a balloon. "But—"

"But nothing. Cassie, you could've gotten killed. Just because you have a healing factor and invulnerability does not mean you are _invincible_. No one is." Jason sighed as he glanced at her. "Just…please. Don't go running into trouble half-cocked like that, alright?"

The current Wonder Girl nodded glumly.

* * *

By the time they made it back to Diana, Donna was already beginning to wake up. This was indicated by the appearance of M'gann, who exited her mind and gave them all a nod. Soon after, a groan spilled from Donna's lips as she began to stir. Her eyes opened.

"Jay…?" she asked, gazing up at the familiar helmet. It had been so long since she had seen it outside of a tube or a memorial hologram.

Jason smiled, though no one could see it. "Hey, you."

She moved to sit up, and Jason seamlessly helped her back onto her feet. As the world blinked into focus, she glanced around her. "M'gann, Kaldur…Wallace!" she said the last one joyfully, her face breaking into a smile as she pulled the speedster into a hug. It had been so long!

Wallace patted her on the back. "It's good to see you too, Don."

Donna let go of the embrace, still grasping at Wallace's arms. "How…?" her eyes widened as the memories started rushing back into her. " _Savage,_ " she snarled.

"He took control of us," Kaldur said quietly. " _All_ of us."

"For what?" Donna asked, confused. Instead of answering, her fellow heroes shifted their gazes towards Cassie and Diana, who had been watching the proceedings silently.

The second Wonder Woman followed their line of sight, and froze in horror. Cassie might've been healing, but she was still very disheveled. And Diana…

"Oh Hera, _Diana_ …" Donna whispered, putting a hand to her mouth as she approached her beaten and battered sister. "Did I…?"

Diana simply closed her eyes for a moment, and then smiled weakly. "It's fine, Donna. You've gotten so strong. I'm so proud."

Donna's lip trembled as she tried not to cry. Jason put a hand on her shoulder, steadying her. She unconsciously leaned into him.

"I am sorry, but we cannot afford to linger any longer," Kaldur cut in, sounding truly regretful, if stern. "We still need to deal with Superman — Kon-El," he added for Cassie and Diana's benefits.

Donna's hand dropped, and she gave Jason a look. "Not Lantern?"

She could sense him wincing behind his helmet. "I wasn't able to sense him on the island," M'gann explained, off to the side.

The Amazon paused as she thought that over. "That's not a good thing, is it?"

"No," all four of her friends said as one.

She sighed.

* * *

After ensuring that Wally and Bart were coming in to bring Diana and Cassie to the meeting spot, the Era 2 Justice League departed upwards toward the island, where the battle of the Supermen were taking place. According to M'gann, the fight was taking place on the other side of the island, away from the armies of heroes and villains, so that way no one could interfere with them and possibly tip things towards Clark's favor. Which meant they would able to focus entirely on just taking down Kon, and once they had him back, it would allow them to reinforce their comrades in the other battle in a two-pronged attack.

Well, as much as the other side could muster with the attack. M'gann could feel the guilt rolling off the others, and couldn't help but sympathize. She had been lucky — Uncle J'onn had managed to break the control on her before she could do any lingering damage to him. Her friends hadn't been so fortunate. Jason, obviously, took it the hardest considering his past, but the states of Jay and Diana had hit Wallace and Donna, respectively, like a freight train. And Kaldur, forever eternally loyal to King Arthur and his descendants…well. When they were done freeing Kon and got to fighting their actual enemies, M'gann fully expected things to be vicious.

Of course, not to say she was going to be any better.

Not to mention there was the issue of Kyle that still needed to be dealt with. They _had_ to be vicious, because viciousness meant things could be ended quicker, faster. More energy conserved. Because if Savage really did have his hooks in Kyle, then it was possible that even the combined might of Era 1 and Era 2 wouldn't be able to stop him. M'gann may have lived a longer life than most, but her psionic abilities meant she had a very vivid memory. She remembered, very well, how powerful Kyle Rayner was, and even Martin Jordan, with his heritage and emotional strength, had yet to measure up to his predecessor even after he had his honorary uncle's ring for close to a decade. He was strong, for certain, but Kyle…Kyle had been something out of this world.

"M'gann?"

But that was a thought for another time. They were here.

* * *

The thing about Kryptonians, even Kryptonian hybrids, is that they radiated power. It was easier to ignore when they were out of combat, especially serious combat, but when someone saw them fight — well, it was hard not to mistake them as gods. An idea that every member of the Era 2 Justice League was reminded of when they arrived to the battlefield and looked up to the sky. Only glimpses of red and blue and the occasional shockwave of force indicated the presence of the Supermen. None had the ability to really visually track them except for Wallace.

_M_ _'gann, Donna,_ Jason thought, and both women complied, ascending to the air at their fastest speeds. As soon as they were close, M'gann used her considerably psionic power to freeze them both with her telekinesis. Before Kon could use his own telekinesis to break out, he was bum-rushed by Donna, who tackled him further upwards into the sky. As those two began duking it out, M'gann's eyes glowed, and she telepathically connected Clark's mind into the already-present bond between the other heroes. _Hello again, Clark Kent._

Clark, bloody and a little worse for wear but still completely combat-capable, blinked, as the telekinetic grip on him disappeared. _You are_ _…M'gann, correct?_

_Yes. If you look down, you_ _'ll see our Flash, Wallace, and our Aquaman, Kaldur'ahm._

_Hi Clark!_ Wallace's cheerful voice cut in.

_Greetings, Clark. It is good to meet you again. You may call me Kaldur._

The first Superman looked down, and smiled, giving a small wave. _Hello. It_ _'s nice to meet you too._

_And you, of course, know Jason and Donna._

_Can_ _'t…talk!_ Donna thought, grunting. _Kind_ _…of…fighting…right now! A little help please!_

M'gann glanced her way and frowned. _Right. On my way._ She flew away, towards the ongoing battle between her Superman and Wonder Woman to aid the latter, leaving Clark by his lonesome.

Before Clark could follow her, Jason's voice stopped him. _Clark, I have Kryptonite on me. But there_ _'s an issue — Kon is half-human. He'll be able to resist it longer than you. And with his telekinesis still in play, it'll make it difficult to restrain him. Even M'gann isn't strong enough to hold off his telekinesis for long._

_What do you suggest we do then?_ Clark asked, resuming his flight towards the battle.

_You three will need to corral him down back to the ground, where Kaldur, Wallace and I will be waiting. The Kryptonite I have on me should weaken him, but he_ _'ll need longer exposure than you to completely subdue him to the point that M'gann can bypass his shields and enter his mind to break the mind control. That means the very moment you've got him down to the ground, you_ need _to get out of dodge, Clark._ Jason told him, completely serious and severe. _We have our own methods to help restrain him, including the Lasso of Truth, but if he breaks through them then we need you in top shape to knock him back down so we can try again. That means avoiding exposure to the Kryptonite. Understood?_

_Understood._ Clark responded, before slamming his fist directly against Kon's jaw. It was by far the best hit he had gotten into the fight thus far. Usually, Kon's telekinesis either blocked or diverted his blows before they could land. However, his successor had been distracted by his two newest opponents, and that gave Clark the opportunity to finally get back into this fight.

Kon tumbled back from the blow before righting himself, angling his jaw back into the place before speeding back to return the favor. Before he could, he was bum-rushed by Donna again, who delivered two kicks to his sides before slamming both her fists against both sides of his head. Kon stumbled back, shaking his head, and tried to retaliate with a telekinetic blast. M'gann sensed it, however, and warned Donna, who dove out of the way and allowed the Martian to match it with her own, canceling it out.

Clark took advantage, tackling Kon and using gravity to help him slam his successor down towards the ground. Kon tried to use his telekinesis to get him off, but M'gann was quick to follow up Clark's assault and cancel it out. Just as they were about to make their crash landing, Donna lassoed Clark and pulled him off Kon while dropping down herself like a missile, slamming both her feet onto her teammate's chest with a powerful two-footed stomp.

She quickly unleashed Clark in favor of Kon instead, tying up his arms with her lasso. Suddenly, Donna leapt up, and a flood of water covered the second Superman, before flash-freezing and further restraining him to the ground. Finally, Wallace appeared with Jason, and the second Batman drew out the shard of Kryptonite and waved it near his friend's face. Kon's face twisted in pain, and he continued to struggle, but the mineral had completely sapped his super strength. With M'gann doing her hardest to negate his telekinesis, he was unable to free himself, and eventually fell limp.

The moment he did, M'gann phased through the restraints and into his mind. Jason quickly pocketed the Kryptonite, while Kaldur unfroze the water. Donna untied Kon and gradually, the entire group gathered around the second Superman. Clark in particular was keeping close, just in case Kon somehow managed to eject M'gann from his mind before she could break the brainwashing.

It was several minutes of bated breath before M'gann finally exited from Kon's mind. She gave them all a single nod, and almost immediately the tension eased out of all of them. Those last vestiges of doubt vanished when a groan spilled from the Kryptonian hybrid's lips and he started sitting up. "What the hell…?" He looked up, and blinked, zeroing in on Clark.

"If it weren't the fact that you're here, I could almost pretend we were back in our universe," Kon said as he took Jason's offered hand and pulled himself up, back to his feet.

"Universe?" Clark raised an eyebrow.

"Later," Kon told him, rubbing his head. He took a longer look at his mentor, and blanched. "Clark…was that me? God, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Kon-El," Clark quickly waved him off, "It wasn't your fault. And anyway, we have more pressing matters to deal with."

Kon blinked, and scanned the group again. "Where's Kyle?" he asked flatly.

All his teammates sighed, while Clark merely raised an eyebrow. "I take it that's not a good thing," he commented dryly.

"No/Nope/Nah-ah," chorused from the group, while Kon simply groaned again.

"Okay, fine, whatever. We'll deal with it when it comes and hopefully we won't all die when it's time," Kon said with finality, ignoring the way Clark flinched when he heard the word 'die'. "What's the plan?"

"Two-pronged pincer attack," Jason answered, glancing at M'gann. "We come from the east, everyone else that can fight comes from the west. Does anyone need to be evacuated?"

M'gann's eyes glowed, and then gestured her head negatively. "All our allies are still fighting and holding their own, miraculously enough. Though many are very much running on fumes."

Jason hummed. "The others are closer to the battlefield. They'll arrive before us, but their reinforcements won't be as strong. They might turn the tide of the battle for a bit, but they could easily be overwhelmed."

"Then we go all out on arrival, we don't hold back," Kaldur offered.

"But what about everyone else? Everyone that can't fight?" Donna interjected.

"I'll evacuate them," Wallace offered, jabbing his thumb to himself and giving a smirk.

"Sounds like a plan," Jason shifted his attention to Clark. "You go on ahead, be our vanguard. Give us a lay of the situation through M'gann, so that way we know who to evacuate and who needs immediate relief. We'll be the cavalry and take care of the rest."

Clark nodded, ascending to the sky and the flying towards the direction of the conflict. The remaining heroes watched him zip away, and then glanced at each other.

"And Kyle?" M'gann asked, her invisible brow furrowing.

Jason grunted. "It's like Kon said. We'll have to wait for him to come to us. And when he does, we throw every available body we have at him." It was the only way all of them were going to survive, after all.

* * *

Cyborg grunted as he rolled to his feet and blocked a blast of energy from Fatality with his own sonic cannon. The two beams collided, creating a massive explosion which further spread out the forces of both sides. Above him, his teammate Starfire threw a volley of starbolts as a follow-up, forcing Fatality to retreat.

Up in the sky, Alan Scott was dueling with Sinestro. The Golden Age Green Lantern was holding his own against the turncoat, but Sinestro's superior skill and willpower was beginning to wear him down. Even so, Alan was determined to keep up the fight no matter what, even as worries about Kyle tingled at the back of his mind.

Elsewhere, Tigress and her husband Icicle Jr. were being tag-teamed by Stargirl and Arrowette. Damage was going toe-to-toe with Atomic Skull while Ted Grant was dancing around with Bane. Heroes and villains, constantly clashing, and while the weaker and less-skilled villains had quickly fallen to the heroes' superior teamwork, the stronger and savvier villains had quickly pushed their own advantage and tried to overwhelm them. While the heroes had held them off so far, they were gradually being ground down.

Something needed to change, and soon.

_BOOM!_

The battle stilled as everyone glanced up at the sky, watching as a familiar blue form zipped in. It slammed into a rampaging Solomon Grundy, punching the zombie into the sky and over the horizon, causing him to land in a gaggle of minor villains who had been loitering at the periphery of the conflict. Everyone stared, hopes rising and hopes dashing.

Superman had arrived.

Clark scanned the area, surveying the various states of everyone present, friend and foe alike, and streaming the information over his telepathic connection to M'gann and the others. That didn't mean his senses weren't kept on alert — they very much were, which is why he was able to dodge a vicious punch swung in his direction, towards his back. He twisted around, and narrowed his eyes at his aggressor. He had seen his file enough times in the Fortress of Solitude to recognize who he was.

General Dru-Zod.

"Hello, Kal-El, son of the traitor Jor-El," the criminal greeted his fellow Kryptonian, his words and the vicious edge of his smirk betraying the seeming genialty he was showing.

"Zod," Clark greeted back, terse and tense.

"I've heard quite a bit about you from my fellow prisoners of the Phantom Zone and from our benefactor. You've become quite the hero to these primitive lifeforms." The general sneered. "Of course, considering it was your house that brought about Krypton's doom, it's only to be expected you would try to assuage your guilt by playing the part of a god to such lesser beings."

Clark straightened to his full height, preparing for battle. "Believe whatever you want, Zod. I've read your file too, I know what kind of man you are. So let's just get on with it already."

"Yes," Zod agreed, rearing back his fists. "Let's."

With that, the two Kryptonians clashed, and the battle began anew.

* * *

Clark's arrival heralded the arrival of the other heroes — those that could fight, at least. Ultimately, this amounted to Martian Manhunter, Robin, Batgirl, Aquaman, Queen Mera, Tempest, the Flash, Impulse, and Wonder Girl. And of that group, only Martian Manhunter was in prime shape; everyone else was injured and/or otherwise fatigued due to their previous battles. It was hardly an ideal cavalry, but it _was_ a cavalry, so the other heroes took what they could get.

While the various heroes spread out, aiming for their comrades that seemed to be in the most trouble, the members of Young Justice reunited towards the center of the conflict, moving into a circle, back-to-back. Arrowette and Secret's joy at being once more with their friends was subdued in the face of the current situation, but it emanated from them nonetheless. Along with a few questions.

"Where's Batman, Wonder Woman, and Nightwing?" Arrowette asked, shooting another arrow at an approaching Harm.

Robin grunted as he used his bo-staff to combat some robotic bees being controlled by a cackling bee villain that he was vaguely sure had something to do with the current iteration of HIVE. "Hidden. They were too injured to join the fight. So was Jay Garrick."

"Too injur— _seriously_?"

Her teammate hissed. "Era 2 is Nintendo Hard. Let's just leave it at that."

"Here, here!" Wonder Girl concurred, kicking Mighty Endowed in the face.

"I'm pretty sure my bruises are going to have bruises tomorrow," Impulse admitted as he formed a tornado and directed it towards another group of approaching villains.

" _ **Well, whatever! You**_ _ **'re here and that makes things so much easier!**_ " Secret announced, choking the life out of the Gentleman Ghost.

_**STOMP!** _

A massive foot slammed into the ground, sending heroes and villains alike flying. The members of Young Justice were no different, and Impulse was forced to grab Robin after regaining his footing while Wonder Girl caught Arrowette. Together, the five young heroes glanced up at the sky, where Giganta had finished super-sizing herself and was now wreaking havoc across the battlefield, slapping away anyone she could find as she screamed for Wonder Woman to show herself.

" _ **I spoke too soon,**_ " Secret spoke with a resigned tone.

Robin gripped his bo-staff tighter as he glanced around the battlefield, where he noticed that the heaviest hitters, the ones that stood the best chance against the villainess, were all occupied. Top of the list was Superman, who was still engaged in his duel against Zod. That just left…

"…us," he sighed, screwing his eyes closed, before opening them with determination. "Guys, we're going have to be the ones to take her down!"

All his friends whirled around and looked at him like he was crazy. Which, admittedly, he probably was. "Are you _insane_!" Arrowette screamed at him. "There's no way we can take her down! Maybe if Kon were here, we could do it, but just us?" she shook her head vigorously.

"You know I'd usually be all up for taking a villain, Robin, but this time I have to agree with Arrowette, Robin," Wonder Girl told her friend, gripping the lasso at her side tightly. Since her mentor had been banned from the battle, Diana had temporarily relinquished ownership of the precious gift to her, for both luck and potential utility. Staring up at the rampaging Giganta, Cassie couldn't help but wonder if this is what Diana meant. "Can't we leave it to the older heroes?"

" _What_ older heroes?" Robin asked pointedly, gesturing to the surrounding chaos.

His friends glanced around, then stared at him guiltily. "…fine," Arrowette, the chief protester, conceded. "What's your plan?"

* * *

M'gann's eyes ceased her glowing as her team and her gradually approached the battlefield. While Donna and Kon were flying like her and Wallace was running, Jason and Kaldur were being carried on a telekinetic platform created by Kon. _There_ _'s been a snag — Giganta entered the party and is wrecking everything in sight. Young Justice has decided they're going to be the ones to take her down, since no one else is available, and because she's been ignoring them and screeching for Diana._

There were four simultaneous mental groans. _Goddammit, Tim_ , Jason moaned. _Donna, Kon, can you handle it?_

_Gladly_ , Donna said testily. She still held something of a grudge against Giganta for her first stint as Wonder Woman, filling in for Diana while her sister reinvented herself. It was humiliating, being hung around that giant's neck like a cheap necklace. Too bad Giganta had died before she could've gotten payback.

_Sure. They_ are _my team,_ Kon added, frowning.

_Great. Now how should we make our entrance?_ Despite his generally serious demeanor, there was an undercurrent of excitement in Jason's thoughts that was reflected in everyone else's demeanor. There were few things about superheroism that enthused them these days, but if there was anything that still brought them great joy, it was shocking and scaring the crap out of supervillains.

_Allow me._ Kaldur announced, drawing his water-bearers. His eyes glowed as he accessed his hydrokinesis, drawing water from the air and the surrounding foilage, gradually creating a massive ball of water, large enough to create a sizable tidal wave. Which was the point.

The very moment they were in visible distance of the battle, Kaldur leaped from the invisible platform and transformed it into several hard water-spears, and threw them into the fray. With his precise control, they all struck several non-vital areas of numerous supervillains, knocking them down to the ground and subsequently announcing their presence to all the combatants. The battle stilled as everyone stared at them.

Jason followed Kaldur, drawing his sticks and holding them aloft as he landed next to his friend. Wallace sped up next to them, crossing his arms as his visor glinted ominously. M'gann let down her hood and floated up in the sky like an avenging angel. Next to her was Kon, whose eyes glowed red. On the other side of him was Donna, who slammed a fist into her palm.

_Hello, everyone,_ M'gann's voice echoed through every mind present. _Mind if we cut in?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this battle is getting a bit long, and we still got at least two chapters to go before the story goes on hiatus again. Real life is creeping up and I need to take break from this story to work on THAB Arc V — which will be this year's NaNoWriMo project, if I can get it all plotted out before November.
> 
> I hoped you enjoy this. Next chapter…things are going to get _wild_.
> 
> Next chapter: Battle Royale, Part 2


	21. Nintendo Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Era 2 aren’t just Hard.
> 
> They’re _Nintendo_ Hard.

_M_ _'gann, link us up with every hero present!_ Jason ordered. _Then everyone, split! You know who your targets are!_ That final word said, he ran towards the direction of his sister, who, being the only Bat besides Robin present, was the subject of the attentions of most of the Gotham Rogues. Despite her general inexperience, she was holding herself well, even if the more powerful ones were stopping her from taking the weaker ones out.

Wallace sped towards the Central/Keystone City Rogues, who were currently having a hit-and-run war with Wally, while Kon and Donna flew towards the hulking form of Giganta. Kaldur used the water from his previous attack to create a tidal wave that he rode towards where his King and Queen were dueling Ocean Master. That left M'gann by her lonesome, as she tried to coordinate the sudden mass link between dozens of minds, creating a number of subnets between certain individuals and instructing them on how to switch between them and the main nets.

_Arrogant of you to believe that you could create a bond between so many people and keep it secure, Martian_.

She clicked her teeth. _Psimon. And I guess that_ _'s Dr. Psycho and Mad Hatter with you? Oh, and Gorilla Grodd. Haven't had the joy of dealing with you lot in years. Tell me, is this every villainous telepath present?_

_Well, besides Despero_ _—_

A fission of anger coursed through M'gann. It was only because of her years of experience and control that she managed to limit the fierce emotion to the connections she had to the villains, causing a backlash that had them reeling.

_What the hell!_ Psycho yelped, and she could just _feel_ him clutching his head.

M'gann ignored him. _Thank you for the information. I_ _'m going to take you all out now._

She didn't wait for a response. Miss Martian dived into the near endless well of telepathic power that she kept locked up in her mind, careful to mind the depth. She pulled out just enough to knock out all the other telepaths for the next day or so, and then unleashed it in a powerful wave. Four mental screams echoed in her mind, before suddenly falling silent. M'gann absentmindedly used the opportunity to finally secure the mass link, before reaching out for the familiar touch of Despero's mind. Upon finding it near her uncle, she snarled.

_Not this time, Despero._

* * *

"Yo!"

"Gah!" Leonard Snart whirled around, ceasing his attempts to freeze the Flash to death in favor of facing this new Flash that was watching him with a smirk on his face. "New Flash, I presume."

"The fifth, one to be exact," Wallace confirmed. "It's been a while, Snart. Back in my time, you're long retired."

Snart smirked. "I guess it's because I finally offed your cousin?"

"Nah," Wallace said, before speeding forward and grabbing Snart's cold gun. "This is why."

Captain Cold watched in horror as the speedster disassembled his weapon right before his very eyes. Before he could do anything about it, a powerful fist slammed directly under his jaw, knocking him out. Wallace dropped the pieces of the Cold Gun onto the ground, before glancing up at the other Rogues, who were suddenly looking a lot more apprehensive.

Wallace cracked his knuckles. _I love this job._

* * *

_My King! My Queen!_ Kaldur called out as he washed away some approaching trenchers and landed next to the two monarchs. _Allow me to assist you!_

_Kaldur_ _'ahm!_ Mera paused in her attack to glance nervously at Black Manta, _Don_ _'t! We'll be fine! Go help someone else!_

Kaldur saw his king beset by several villains led by his villainous brother Orm, and soundly disagreed. He directed the wave to sweep the villains away, and electrified the water. The criminals gagged and seized as electricity coursed through them, before finally dropping to the ground in heaps.

The next moment, he found a saber trying to cut him down. He soundly dodged it and glared at his aggressor. "Black Manta," Kaldur muttered, hatred lining his tone.

"Hello, Kaldur'ahm," Manta greeted him genially. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you."

"Liar!" Kaldur snarled.

"Believe what you wish. It is the truth."

The third Aquaman refused to listen anymore. He summoned the water from the tidal wave and directed it towards the other man. The optics of Manta's helmets glowed, before the eye lasers fired and turned the attack into steam.

* * *

Kon's ear twitched, and he frowned as he saw several black blurs flying towards the ongoing duel between Clark and Zod. _Donna, looks like we have some interlopers. Could you handle Giganta on your own?_

_Sure. Try not to destroy the island?_

_Look at who_ _'s talking._ Kon shot back amusedly, before changing direction of his flight towards the duel between his fellow Kryptonians. Already, the two combatants had stopped as Clark spun around, staring apprehensively at the other Kryptonians that had surrounded him. _Let_ _'s see…Ursa, Faora, Jax-Ur, Non — the usual suspects for Zod lackeys. Shouldn't be too hard to deal with._

Out loud, he shouted, "Hey assholes! Stay away from my cousin!"

The Phantom Zone criminals turned their attentions away from Clark to him, and Kon immediately put up a barrier, allowing their heat vision to reflect against it and sputter away. Eventually, the lasers ceased, and with a flick of his wrist Kon telekinetically bound their bodies and grabbed their legs, before slamming them to the ground with prejudice.

Normally, he would keep beating them down until they were knocked out, but they were currently on a time crunch and there were a bunch of friends that were in need of a Superman's aid. So, he decided to go the easy route. _M_ _'gann?_

_Already on it._

Kryptonian minds were sturdier than human mind (at least when under a yellow sun) but M'gann was by far and away the most powerful and skilled telepath in the world right now. It was child's play for her to knock the criminals out for a serviceable amount of time. Kon did a quick scan of them to make sure, before releasing the bonds on them and giving his cousin a nod and flying off.

* * *

_Okay, are we good?_ Tim asked, watching as Bart sped around the distracted Giganta's feet, tying Diana's (currently Cassie's) magical lasso around the lower half of the giant woman's legs. It was a bit difficult, considering the sheer size disparity, but the lasso was long and unbreakable and probably had some magical extension feature, so they managed.

_We_ _'re good!_ Bart confirmed, smirking. _And by the way? This telepathy? So crash!_

_I gotta agree,_ Arrowette admitted. _Maybe we should think about recruiting our own telepath to the team._

_**But would they manage to link me?**_ Secret asked. _**Even I don**_ _ **'t know how Miss Martian managed to link me.**_

_She_ _'s just super strong like that. You should've seen her when we went up against Donna — she could put up these barriers and stuff while talking to everyone like we were having a simple chat at breakfast._ Cassie gushed. _I hope we_ _'ll get her as a teacher when this is all over._

_You will, after we run you down through a billion drills for pulling this stunt._

Young Justice froze as Donna's familiar voice, irate and unamused, cut through their link. The woman herself landed next to Robin, and glared at him, causing him to flinch. _Don_ _'t think we don't know about what all of you, Batgirl, and Stargirl did to get on this mission. You are_ not _getting off with a simple grounding._

_But Donna! If we hadn_ _'t come on the mission you would have—,_ Cassie cut herself off before she said more, filled with guilt.

Donna stared hard at her for a moment, before sighing. _I know. We all know. And we_ _'re proud of you for that. Truly. But there is a reason the adults didn't want you to come on this mission — you're not ready for the level this battle will be going into soon._ Her eyes flickered upwards. _Speaking of which_ _…!_

The young teen heroes ran out of dodge as Donna blocked a massive fist that slammed down at her, looking to squash her. Giganta had a sick grin on her face as she tried to press down, forcing Donna to dig her heels in. Then, with a mighty roar, she pushed back on the fist, before blasting it away completely. Giganta stumbled, causing the ground around her to shake as she tried to right herself. She glanced down at her feet and flared her nostrils as she tried to remove the lasso.

While she was distracted, Donna glanced around at the children, before sending out a message to all the heroes in the surrounding area. _Everyone! This is Troia! Please flee the area around myself and Giganta immediately! And when I give the word, anyone that can fly should take to the air, and bring with them anyone that can_ _'t!_

_And if you can_ _'t handle that much,_ Kon added, _I_ _'ll lift you up myself._

With that said, Donna waited patiently as the heroes began to flee. Once she felt the touch of M'gann's telepathy again, signaling that it was time, she inhaled a deep breath before diving into the depths of her soul, accessing the one life that had caused her more strife than any other. She rarely ever used the abilities of this life, but it was certainly useful for this instance. And a real knock on Giganta.

Never let it be said that Donna couldn't be petty. She wasn't Diana, after all.

* * *

The entire battlefield stilled again as everyone watched Donna begin to glow — and then _grow_ in size, gradually matching the still struggling Giganta. Eventually, even the usual giantess noticed what was happening and stopped trying to remove the lasso in favor of watching Donna equal her in stature with a slack jaw. Then, she regained her wits about herself and unleashed a roar as she tried to punch the other woman.

Unfortunately, Donna's skills had not degraded even at that size. She easily blocked the punch, before retaliating with one of her own. The island quaked as Donna landed the blow, and then another, and another, sending Giganta further and further back. Finally, as the other woman stood, completely in a punch drunk stupor, Donna finished her off by moving back to stand behind the other woman, looping her arms around her waist, and delivering a patented German suplex.

_Now!_ Donna's voice screamed into the heads of her allies just as Giganta's head and neck met the ground. Almost immediately, every flight-capable hero ascended to the sky with whoever they could grab while Kon lifted the rest up with his telekinesis. The earth practically convulsed as the force of the attack rippled throughout the entire island, sending numerous villains who hadn't managed to get airborne like the heroes tripping, flying and, more often than not, screaming.

All the fighting had ceased. Instead, everyone stared as Donna let go of Giganta and rolled out from under the other woman. She then got to her feet and kicked her dazed opponent onto her back, before mounting her and slamming hammerfists into her face. Once she was certain Giganta had been sufficiently punched out (as indicated by the villainess' bloody nose and shrinking body), she returned to her original size, double-stomping her rival into the ground as she landed as a final middle finger.

The entire area around her was silent. Donna turned around, stepping off Giganta's prone body, and swept her eyes across the surrounding villains. One in particular, Cheetah (and boy, wasn't that pleasing?) flinched when they made eye contact.

Donna smirked, drew her sword, and got to work.

* * *

_God, I love that woman._ Jason thought to himself as he gazed longingly at the charging Donna while he punched out Puzzler, who was currently locked under his arm and now bordering on unconsciousness. He blinked when he felt someone's judgmental gaze on him, and looked to his side to his sister staring at him. _What?_

_You and your friends are crazy._ Cass bluntly told him, before swiftly starting her chase after a fleeing Maxie Zeus, who had clearly decided that this entire job was no longer worth it. Jason watched her go before shrugging, releasing the now unconscious Puzzler and dropping him to the ground.

"You."

He blinked and sighed when he saw who it was addressing him: Bane.

"The second Robin. The bird that died," the man spoke tauntingly. "We were all surprised to hear that you had somehow come back from the dead and had become the next Bat. I wonder — how badly will you break compared to your father?"

Jason stared at him for the moment. Then he kicked Bane in the face.

"ARGH!" The ruler of Santa Prisca screamed. "Why you—"

Suddenly, he felt a weight on his back. He looked up to see that Jason had drawn one of his sticks and had configured it into a sword with a glowing blue edge. He slashed across Bane's back, cutting the glowing red tube that had been feeding him Venom, before transforming the sword back into an escrima stick with a simple twirl. Jason then jabbed the stick into the small of Bane's back, activating the weapon's electrical generation ability.

Bane let out a scream of pain as the electricity coursed through him. The moment Jason removed the stick, his body collapsed face-first, completely unconscious. The third Batman nonchalantly stepped off it, before tossing back an energy bola as an afterthought, not even bothering to glance back as the energized ropes wrapped around the unconscious supervillain.

Jason then glanced around the rogues that had been attempting to close in on him while he had been distracted by Bane. The same villains he had spent years of his early life combating. It had been so long since he had seen many of them, alive and well.

He cracked his neck. They all took a step back, eying him nervously.

He couldn't help it — he smiled.

_I forgot how much fun this job could be._

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you people!?" The normally composed, if hateful Black Manta screeched at his son as the two continued to duel in the midst of the chaos. Kaldur didn't respond beyond a vicious glare and a fierce kick to the chest. Manta skidded back, but before he could retaliate Kaldur had formed an axe with one of his water-bearers and slashed at him. The older man just barely managed to lean back to avoid a lethal, potentially fatal blow — but his suit was not so lucky. Nor his helmet.

Manta felt panic bubbling in his chest as his iconic manta helmet shattered, bisected in two and revealing his face to the world. The circuitry within it deactivated instantly, preventing him from accessing his optic lasers. He used his swords to continue parrying his adversary, but his sudden demoralization combined with Kaldur's naturally superior strength due to his Xebelian physiology ultimately proved to be his undoing. Eventually, in the face of Kaldur's fury, his limbs fatigued and he was subsequently disarmed.

Once again, Kaldur took the opportunity to kick him in the chest, before sheathing one water-bearer in favor of punching Manta in the face. That final blow finally drove the other man to his back, groaning. When Kaldur approached him with a water sword in hand, Manta held his hand out in panic, hoping to stave off that final blow. "Wait, Kaldur'ahm! Stop! I'm your father!"

Kaldur did not blink upon hearing that, though he did stop and stare at Manta. He ignored how Arthur, Mera, and Garth had all ceased their own attacks in favor of watching the confrontation in apprehension.

"I'm your father, Kaldur'ahm," Manta repeated, holding both his hands out in a placating gesture. "Your biological father. Your _true_ father. Please, son — you're on the wrong side. The king you serve…he murdered my father, your grandfather. And now, he's using you against me in this war of ours."

The third Aquaman didn't say anything.

"I know I haven't been a part of your life thus far, but that was not my fault — your mother hid you from me. And now that we've finally met, I'd like to get to know you, my son. To let you inherit your true legacy," Manta gestured to himself, "the legacy of Black Manta."

Kaldur remained silent.

"Kaldur'ahm…I love you."

Garth cursed beneath his breath. Mera inhaled deeply. Arthur gripped his trident.

And Kaldur…

Kaldur _laughed._

It was not a kind laugh, nor a mirthful one. No, it was a cold, bitter one, like there was a joke at play that wasn't really funny but hurtful and yet he was still laughing anyway. The very sound of it was unnerving, and it chilled everyone to the core.

"You fool," Kaldur said with a trailing chuckle, shaking his head. "You stupid, stupid _fool_."

Manta was frozen still, looking up with wide eyes.

"I'm from the future, Black Manta. I died in my sixties. Did you honestly I think I went all those decades without knowing you were my father?" He hissed, the amusement suddenly evaporating entirely.

The supervillain trembled.

"I found out when I was sixteen. And it didn't stop me from siding with my King, with Atlantis. Just like it didn't stop you from trying to gut me like a fish just to hurt him, or from trying to destroy Atlantis and killing my parents, my _real_ parents in the process." The third Aquaman jabbed his sword forward, pointing directly at Manta's chest. "Just like how it didn't stop me from killing _you._ "

Silence.

The Atlanteans were pale, as was Black Manta. Even many of the surrounding villains and heroes, who had been watching the scene out of curiosity, looked on in dawning horror. Kaldur smirked bitterly.

"Savage didn't mention that, did he?" Kaldur asked in a casual tone. "Makes sense; it would be the only reason why you would try to feed me such lies. ' _I love you_ _'_ — what tripe. You don't _love_ , Manta. You hate. You hate with every fiber of your being, until it consumes you until you have nothing left but revenge, not caring who or what gets in your way."

He reared the sword back, ready to deliver that final killing blow. "It's for that reason that I have no issues doing this again, and wiping you off the face of the map!" He swung true.

Only for a pale hand to grab his wrist before the blade could connect. Manta, who had his arm out and had prepared himself for the pain, blinked, jaw dropping slightly when he realized who had saved him.

"My King!" Kaldur breathed out, eyes wide. "What are you doing!?"

"Stopping you from making a mistake, Kaldur'ahm," Arthur answered solemnly, if severely. "Enough. He's beaten."

"He's not beaten until he's dead!" Kaldur shrieked, forcefully pulling himself away. "Have you forgotten what he's already done? He killed Prince Arthur!"

Arthur closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Behind them, Mera flinched.

"Yes, he did."

Kaldur flared his nostrils. "He'll kill my parents! He nearly destroyed Atlantis! He almost killed Queen Atlanna, your daughter!"

The King remained unswayed, though there was a sheen to his eyes.

"He'll kill _you,_ " Kaldur revealed, and there was a tremble to his voice, and his own tears beginning to build. "He'll kill you. My job is to protect you. Your family. I swore my life to it. _Please_ , just let me protect you."

"You already have, Kaldur'ahm," Arthur told him, and he didn't know this man, not truly, but he did know that he couldn't bear the thought of him having to kill his own father for Arthur's sake. "You don't need to spill your own blood to keep protecting me."

"But I did!" And now, there was a sob to Kaldur's voice. "For Queen Atlanna, I did. I can do it for you, too."

"I have no doubt that you can. But you shouldn't have to." Arthur placed his hands on the other man's shoulders, a reassuring gesture. "Enough, Kaldur'ahm."

Kaldur heaved back and forth, the tears there, though not falling. "Is that an order, My King?"

"Does it need to be?"

There was a beat, as everyone waited for Kaldur's answer. Finally, after a long moment, he sighed and sheathed his water-bearer. Almost unconsciously, everyone let out a breath of relief.

And then the man's right hand shot out, generating an electric current which shocked Manta to the core. The man's eyes fluttered close, and he collapsed onto his stomach.

"Don't worry, he's not dead," Kaldur told the gaping audience, voice cold. "Just unconscious. I don't need to kill him to make sure he won't be a problem for the rest of this battle."

He gave a single nod to Arthur, before facing the remaining villains, who all shivered. Kaldur narrowed his eyes, and let his hands spark.

* * *

"Well that's done!" Wallace said cheerfully to his his now-wincing cousin. Wally grimaced at the carnage before him — the Central City/Keystone City Rogues, who had been summarily beaten and laid out by his baby cousin. Many of the non-metas had their signatures weapons taken and disassembled and then destroyed to near unsalvageable levels. Metas, meanwhile, either had the oxygen painfully (if temporarily) removed from their bodies via wind funnels or were just repeatedly punched in the face until they were knocked out.

Wallace was not ( _heh_ ) flashy like his Uncle Barry and his science tricks. Nor did he like using Speed Force abilities like Wally. He _had_ them, he just didn't like using them. Even Bart's absentminded cleverness wasn't his style.

When it came down to the wire, Wallace was a violent pragmatist, just like everyone else in Era 2. He was not afraid to dish out pain.

A slow clap started from behind them, and the two Flashes whirled around to see a smirking Eobard Thawne. Almost immediately, Wallace froze up, while Wally glared, determined. "Nice, nice," Thawne complimented the younger(?) Flash. "You know, Wallace, I—"

He didn't get to finish. Wallace suddenly burst forward at a speed even Wally had issues following, and tackled Thawne to the ground, _hard._ Before the other man could react, he quickly gripped Professor Zoom's leg in his hands, lifting it, and then _twisted_ by flipping right over it while still holding it. At super speed.

The scream Thawne unleashed was inhuman.

Wally could only watch, horrified, as his baby cousin proceeded to break the rest of Thawne's limbs, spinning them and bending them at unnatural angles. By the time he was done, the usually slimy, sadistic, insane Reverse-Flash was a sobbing wreck of untold pain. "What is _wrong_ with you?" He demanded Wallace through his tears.

Wallace hummed. "You," he admitted, before mounting Thawne and giving him repeated punches to the face. "You know what's the one thing I hate most in the world?" he asked in noncommittal tone, delivering a punch with every other word.

Thawne gargled in pain.

"Reverse-Flashes," Wallace answered his own question. "And you? You're the one I hate most of all. So forgive me if I enjoy this a little more than I should." He finished his statement with one last punch to the face, before giving a final, spiteful kick to the side of the unconscious speedster. He dusted himself off, before returning to Wally, giving him an affectionate pat on the shoulder.

Wally swallowed.

* * *

"So you really _are_ the second Robin!" Riddler yelled as he pointed his staff at Jason, some mix of frustrated and triumphant.

Jason glanced at him and then shrugged nonchalantly.

"How—?"

"Do you _really_ want to know?" Jason cut him off, raising an eyebrow behind his helmet.

Riddler paused as he thought that over, then shook his head reluctantly.

"Yeah, I thought so."

The supervillain frown by smirking sadistically. "Well, whatever! What has—"

_Yeah, no_. Jason didn't let him finish. He kicked Riddler in the gut, then grabbed his staff and hit the villain in the back with it a few times. The Riddler collapsed in a groan, which was when Jason dropped a bola pellet (a normal one, not an energy one) on him to restrain him and then walked away.

He scanned the area for a new target, noting how villains seemed to run in the opposite direction the moment he saw them. Considering what his fellow Era 2 Leaguers had been doing to their own rogues, he couldn't honestly say he blamed them. The current Batman had a reputation even outside of Gotham. Nobody wanted to test what an _Era 2_ Batman was capable of.

Except, paradoxically, Batman's own rogues.

Jason couldn't say he was surprised. It might have been a couple of decades, but he practically grew up with these people. He knew how they operated very well. Their conflict with the Batman was about ego almost as much as it was about their own desires and wishes.

Plus, he had been in this time/universe for like eight months and had plenty of opportunities to read up on them again (which was one of the first things he had done the moment he got home). It really wasn't all that hard, figuring them out and figuring out ways to beat them.

"You—" Jason barely blinked before he had Two-Face disarmed, stripping his gun and removing the bullets in several smooth motions before slamming the butt of the weapon onto Dent's head. He went down with a crash, and Jason threw another bola pellet at him for good measure.

He then turned around to give a look at the villain sneaking up at him — Penguin, who was shaking even as he had his umbrella aloft and ready to strike the third Batman down. He froze when Jason spotted him, then dropped the umbrella and ran away screaming in the opposite direction, his hands in the air. Jason watched him go with a bemused look. _Smart man,_ he decided.

Suddenly, his HUD lit up like a Christmas tree, and he banked to the right to avoid a powerful slash from an infuriated Deathstroke. Jason quickly drew both his sticks and blended them together into their single-sword configuration, falling into a stance as Slade and him faced off.

"My daughter left me because of you," the mercenary growled.

"Really?" Jason asked sarcastically. "Good for her," he added flatly. Regardless of his opinion of Rose, even a blind man could see she was better off without her father.

"Fuck you and fuck your father — I'm going to enjoy disemboweling you!"

Jason sighed as Deathstroke charged at him, sword glinting in the light, and flicked a switch on his own sword, causing it to glow an eerie red. He then swung it to meet Deathstroke's blade, and to the shock of the man himself plus several onlookers, the blade cut through the metal like hot butter, leaving Slade with a hilt that had some melted metal attached to it.

Slade stared down at his destroyed weapon in gaping shock. "Wha—"

Jason didn't hesitate — he kicked Slade in the balls, causing the man to wheeze in pain as his knees locked together, his sole visible eye wide in agony. The former Robin then followed up with an energy bola pellet that quickly restrained the man. The mercenary convulsed as the restraints shocked him into unconsciousness.

His opponent looked down at him for a moment, before glancing up at Mr. Freeze, who had watched the entire exchange. The two men stared at each other, before Jason lifted his still-glowing red sword, and flicked another switch on it.

The blade promptly caught fire.

Freeze looked ready to cry.

* * *

It was in the midst of using Cheetah's tail to spin her around that Donna felt the tingle of familiar red magic. It ruffled her hair, causing her to frown. She quickly slammed Cheetah into ground, creating spider cracks. She gave Barbara a quick kick to the head to knock her out, then looked up at the sky, waiting until—yup, there she was.

Circe.

"Hello, Donna," the sorceress greeted her. "You know, normally I—"

_M_ _'gann_.

_On it_.

Circe suddenly screeched as M'gann pierced through her mental defenses and started bombarding her mind with numerous mental attacks. As that was happening, Donna took out her lasso and looped it around her enemy, before swinging it around a few times, building up momentum before slamming Circe onto the ground much like she had Cheetah. Circe let out a moan of pain, having not had the time nor concentration to boost up her defenses to mitigate the damage.

A second later, Wallace sped over with Jason in tow. Jason took one look at the downed sorceress, sighed, and drew out an All-Blade, and stabbed it into her shoulder.

The witch shrieked in pain.

"Look, I don't like hurting women, but I will if I have to, and quite frankly I really don't have any issues when it's someone like you," Jason told her flatly, roughly dislodging the blade. "So I suggest you just leave now."

Circe, heaving, glanced up at him pleadingly. Then her eyes widened. "You…you have…"

Jason raised an eyebrow in mild interest. "Oh, you can sense that?"

The woman didn't answer. Instead, she quickly teleported herself out in a cloud of crimson smoke. Jason blinked, before sighing and dispersing the All-Blade back into his soul. That was done.

He stood up and lazily looked around. Most of the fighting had ceased. Instead, most of the villains were fleeing in different directions, evidently having enough of Era 2. He could see some few pockets of resistance (most notably, Sinestro, which probably wasn't going to end well whenever Kyle showed up), but for the most part, the battle had ended.

Of greater concern were the fearful looks people were shooting his teammates. Not just from villains, but other heroes as well. Which, Jason could admit, was not unwarranted. Era 2 had been a different time, a darker time, and the seven of them had to change _with_ the times. Some had changed for the better, like Jason, while others…well, he hazarded to call it 'the worse', but it was certainly changes that not everyone, especially in this time, would like.

It was just another thing they would have to deal with when this was over.

"You!"

Jason turned around.

The Joker.

_I thought he wasn_ _'t a thing for this?_ Jason sent over the mind link as he drew a batarang from under his gauntlet.

He could sense Kon shrugging. _I didn_ _'t see him at the time. Didn't mean he wasn't there._

_I_ think _I sensed him once, but I didn_ _'t linger too long on it._ M'gann added. _You know how his mind is. Even_ I _have my limits._

Jason had to concede _that_ to her. He could only imagine what the Joker's mind was like, but he was certain that whatever was in there, it wasn't pretty.

"You…why are you alive!" The Joker screamed at him. "You were supposed to be the punchline! My greatest joke on the Bat! This isn't funny! This isn't funny at all!"

He glared angrily at Jason, scowling when he saw that the man didn't react to anything he said. "Well?"

Jason answered by throwing the batarang at his shoulder and then an energy bola pellet. The former stunned the clown, and the later restrained him before he could retaliate, quickly shocking him and rendering him a twitching mess. Jason gave his enemy a quick kick to the head, knocking him out, before turning back to the others.

_Okay, that should be everyone. Kyle should be showing up soon. Are we all good to go?_

_Yeah. I_ _'m good._ Wallace answered.

_I am collecting more water for that right now. Hopefully it will be enough that we all won_ _'t die when he arrives._

_Give me a moment_ _…_ M'gann told them. _And_ _… done! That's Despero out, so yeah, I'm good._

_Circe was it for me, it seems, so I_ _'m good too._

Kon hummed. _Hey, quick question for the class: does Metallo need his Kryptonite heart to live or just to move?_

_To move._ Jason replied, dipping into his encyclopedic knowledge of all supervillains as per Bat protocol. _As long as his head is intact, Luthor can always rebuild him._

_Oh, great!_ There was a screeching sound of metal, and then silence. _Okay, yeah, I_ _'m ready too._

Jason suddenly looked up, frowning. There was still one villain that was an issue: Sinestro, who was in the midst of his duel with Alan Scott. _We should probably deal with that first. Brainwashed or not, Kyle will definitely try to murder him in the most brutal way possible the moment he sees him._

And then, a blast of green energy knocked Sinestro out of the sky, sending him careening into the ground. Jason, on reaction, threw an energy bola pellet at him to restrain him while Wallace confiscated his yellow ring and threw it at Jason for safe-keeping.

_Or not._

Collectively, the heroes turned towards the direction of where the blast originated from. Several cursed when they saw who it was: Hal Jordan, in his Parallax armor.

"First things first: you lot are _terrifying_ ," told the heroes bluntly, gesturing to the various members of Era 2. Several of them shrugged, as if to say 'That's fair'. "Secondly, I suggest you all surrender. You cannot hope to beat me."

Donna held up her hands, which glowed with white energy. "You wanna bet?"

Hal opened his mouth to answer, only to still when a powerful flare of magical energy sprung up behind him. He turned around, moving out of the line of sight to reveal who it was. Several heroes went rigid when they saw the new arrivals. Vandal Savage…and Kyle Rayner.

Kyle looked a bit older than he usually did, his jaw stronger, his hair a bit longer, but he still had on his Green Lantern uniform. But that blank, emotionless look on his face was familiar to anyone that had face the Era 2 Justice League in recent combat. The Lantern was under Savage's control, and that boded ill for everyone present. The heroes that had been present during Kyle's duel with Parallax looked particularly apprehensive and intimidated.

"Savage!" Jordan snarled. "What are you doing here? I was about to finish the job!"

"And you would've failed," Savage replied, bored. "So I brought someone who could do it better than you ever could."

"We had a deal!"

"Considering it broken. Now run along, Jordan. I have no more use nor time for you."

The former Green Lantern roared, energy crackling around him. Before he could attack, however, Savage suddenly burst forward and pierced his chest. The heroes gasped at the attack, but to their surprise, there was no blood.

Instead, Savage pulled out something yellow and glowing. He yanked it out, revealing it to be some giant bug construct, which he subsequently threw into the sky. It floated there, glancing around and sputtering in a feral manner.

_What the hell is that?_ Alan Scott suddenly demanded over the mental link.

_Parallax._ Kaldur answered for him, drawing one of his water-bearers.

Shock permeated through the link, from several people. That's _Parallax?_ They all demanded at once.

Before anyone could reply, Hal suddenly began to drop, his Parallax armor disappearing in favor of his old Air Force jacket and jeans. Kon caught him with his telekinesis before he could hit the ground, and set him gently down. A second later, Wally West sped over, grasping at Hal's shoulders in comfort. "Uncle Hal? Are you alright?"

Hal blinked, and then looked at Wally in confusion. "Wally? What—?" Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he began to tremble. "Oh my God… what did I do?"

Wally swallowed. "Uncle Hal?" _What_ _'s going on?_

_He_ _'s free from Parallax's influence,_ Jason told him. _Without it, his normal morality has reasserted itself. He_ _'s remembering all the crimes he committed under its thrall and can't cope with it._

_But it wasn_ _'t his fault._

_I know that. You know that. We_ all _know that. But does he?_

The speedster grit his teeth. "Uncle Hal, it wasn't your fault. We know about the possession, the time travelers told us about it. It wasn't your fault."

But Hal didn't hear him. He just buried his face into his hands.

Elsewhere, Kaldur glared up at the supervillain that currently had his friend enthralled. "Savage! Is that your plan? Have Parallax possess Lantern instead?"

Savage snorted. "Don't be ridiculous, Aquaman. You and I, and all your comrades, know very well that this man has more power in himself than Parallax could ever hope to give him. I just wanted to make sure that Jordan didn't turn Parallax against him." To punctuate that, he waved his hand, forming an energy cage around the entity before snapping it away. And then, he took out a ring.

One with a _very_ specific color.

Below, Jason's eyes went wide in shock and panic. _Kon! M_ _'gann! Donna!_

_On it!_ The three answered as one, quickly ascending to the sky and trying to stop the hand-off. But before they could even get close, Kyle lifted his hand and blasted all three of them with green energy, stunning them and sending them back.

Then, he slipped off the ring, tossing it away, and took the one Savage handed to him to replace it.

Wallace didn't bother waiting for an order, instead speeding forward to grab the discarded Green Lantern ring. They would need it, he was certain. He caught it just in time for Kyle to begin glowing as he transformed. All everyone could do was watch in growing horror.

_What_ _'s going on, Knight?_ And there was his father's voice. Jason wasn't surprised — he was certain that Bruce, Dick, Diana and Jay had all been watching the battle from some far-off place. M'gann would've sensed them, and added them to the link to keep them apprised of the proceedings, just in case.

_M_ _'gann, link Jordan in. He's going to need to hear this._ Jason quickly ordered, before answering his father. _And to answer, Batman, as you can probably guess, Kyle is becoming a new Lantern. One of a different color._

He could feel the shock over the link. _There are other colored Lanterns?_ Alan asked, shock. _I mean, I know about Sinestro and Star Sapphire, but_ _—_

_They_ _'re a part of that. One of the discoveries in recent years was the existence of an entire Emotional Spectrum, where there were different colors connected to different emotions. Seven in total — Red, for Rage; Orange, for Avarice or Greed; Yellow, for Fear; Green, for Will; Blue, for Hope; Indigo, for Compassion; and Violet, for Love. Sinestro mastered the Yellow Light of Fear, while Star Sapphire had access to the Violet Light of Love._

_And Kyle mastered another of these colors and became another kind of Lantern? Which one?_ Alan pressed

Jason hesitated for a moment.

_Knight._ Bruce demanded.

The son sighed. _He didn_ _'t master one color. He mastered all seven._

And just like that, the mental link went disturbingly silent. Now there was horror was coming from _everyone_ , barring the members of Era 2, who were merely grimly determined. Jason pushed on. _He mastered all seven, and as a result of that, he_ _…evolved, for lack of a better word. He gained access to a new color: white…the color of life._

Kyle glowed brighter. Every conscious living being watched, entranced, as he continued to glow a blinding white, the energy surrounding him causing the world around to shimmer and rend to him. Eventually, the light dimmed enough to reveal the new Kyle.

His hair hung loosely, hanging about an inch above his shoulders. He had a white, rounded visor on, and his suit has changed to different shades of white to match it. On his left pectoral was a new symbol — a circle, with an upside down triangle on the bottom, beneath a semi-circle, with seven lines jutting out from the top, resembling rays of light.

Jason's voice seemed to echo as he spoke over the link, to every hero currently on Infinity Island. _Everyone, the man you_ _'re facing right now is_ the _most powerful member of the Era 2 Justice League. The Greatest of All Lanterns, the Legendary Torchbearer: Kyle Rayner_ _…the White Lantern._

And as Hal Jordan gazed up at the shining form of his successor, holy and vengeful, for that one brief moment…he believed that he was staring up at _God_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! You have no idea how much this chapter kicked my ass! But it was so worth it to finally end up here! That's right everyone, we've got White Lantern Kyle Rayner in the house, and trust me — he _is_ terrifying.
> 
> The next chapter is probably end up longer than usual, so it might be a couple of days. In the mean time, I suggest you update the TV Tropes page! The link is on the first chapter of this story, and on the _one day at a time_ page. And the character page could definitely use some entires.
> 
> Next chapter: The White Lantern.


	22. The White Lantern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Villains used to _cry_ when they heard Kyle Rayner was in town.

_In brightest day, there will be light_

_To cleanse the soul and set wrongs right_

_When darkness falls, don't fear the night_

_A new dawn comes. Let there be light._

* * *

_Wallace!_

_Already on it!_ Jason watched as his Flash sped throughout the battlefield, collecting every prone villain on the ground and piling them far, far away from Ground Zero. As he was doing that, Jason glanced around, zeroing in on any hero that looked too worn out.

_Alright, listen up!_ He barked into the mind link. _Anyone that_ _'s too tired or too injured to fight effectively, needs to skedaddle now! And no, this is not up for debate! The Orange Light of Avarice allows Kyle to absorb the souls of everyone he's killed and use them as an autonomous constructs that are forced to obey his every whim. And trust me, if you can't fight at your best, you_ will _get killed._

Jason didn't have to look back to hear heroes beginning to flee. They all hesitated, of course, but the sheer seriousness of the situation seemed to have gotten to them, and they obeyed. Instead, he focused on being what he needed to be for this battle: the commander. _Anyone who has flight and energy capabilities, your job is to focus on Kyle and try to distract him. Do not let up on the barrage, you need to keep him occupied as much as possible. Your goal is to give M_ _'gann an opening so she can enter his mind and break Savage's control on him._

_Can_ _'t…can't she just do it from out here?_ Jesse Chambers asked, heart stuttering.

_No._ M'gann spoke. _Kyle_ _'s mental defenses are ironclad. I can't break into them from here without shattering his mind, and trust me, that is_ not _an option. No, I have to do it from the inside._

_That_ _'s why you need to give her an opening._ Jason continued. _Be careful_ _— the Red Light of Rage allows him to spew burning plasma from his mouth, and it_ will _be painful. As for the rest of us, we_ _'re going to be dealing with the ground forces—_

Suddenly, Kyle's ring began to glow yellow. He shot his hand up to the sky and created a gigantic, straight up _massive_ construct of a three-headed dragon, with lightning arcing around it. It bellowed a terrifying roar, the three heads glaring down at the horrified and scared heroes with unkind eyes.

Wallace groaned. _I fucking hate it when he uses King Ghidorah._

Jason ignored him. _Take it down! TAKE IT DOWN NOW!_ He screamed into everyone's heads.

Immediately, Kon formed a giant, invisible sharp blade with his telekinesis and cut into the Ghidorah construct. It didn't take — it almost immediately reformed, while the part that was cut off fell to the ground and split into new, smaller constructs. Snarling, terrifying beasts that began charging at the stricken heroes. Kaldur ran forward and summoned the tidal wave of water he had been using thus far, forming a barrage of hard-water lances that pierced their yellow forms. Some died immediately, while others merely shook it off and continued charging forward.

That seemed to shake the heroes out of their stupor, and many began fighting the constructs off. They only fought harder when Kyle began to supplement them with orange constructs, each that acted with a disturbing amount of sentience. Up in the air, the likes of Superman, Starfire, Martian Manhunter, Argent, and Alan Scott had gone to support Kon, M'gann, and Donna in their assault against Kyle and the Ghidorah construct. Occasionally, a blast of red plasma burst from the White Lantern's mouth, forcing distance between them and preventing M'gann from getting too close.

Jason drew out his sticks and transformed them into their dual sword configuration and activated their laser-bladed edges. He cut off the head of one yellow construct before stabbing through the heart of an orange one, a wolf-man who quickly burst into orange sparks. His HUD suddenly lit up, and he turned around to spot a large yellow construct, some kind of elephant creature with teeth, bearing down at him.

Before he could defend himself, the construct suddenly burst away into nothing by a dual blow from both Wonder Girl and Impulse. Jason looked behind him to see the rest of Young Justice, along with Stargirl and Batgirl, all standing at the ready. They all looked scared, but ready and willing to fight. His two saviors returned to the sides of their friends, and all of them gave him determined looks.

Jason sighed. "I guess it's too much to ask you to retreat?"

The resolute looks he received were all the answers he needed.

"Fine," Jason told them, before straightening up and giving them a severe look. "Stargirl, provide air support. Do not bother going after Lantern — you might have fire power but you don't have shielding or invulnerability like the others. They'll be forced to cover for you. You're better off helping here."

"Arrowette, you provide long-range support. Keep at the edge of the battlefield, shoot down any constructs that you think are causing too much trouble. Secret, guard her. Obscure her from the senses of any constructs, take them out on your own if you can."

"Wonder Girl, you're with Stargirl. Guard her, and take down the more troublesome constructs if you can. Impulse, your job is to run around the battlefield and keep an eye on things. Anyone that gets too injured to fight, you evacuate them with the others. Take down constructs if you must, but other heroes are your priority. You might be the difference between life and death for them." The young speedster swallowed at the last statement.

Finally he looked at his siblings. "Robin, Batgirl, you're with me. You're going to guard my back and provide me support. Here," he handed one of his swords to Cass, while transforming the other into a bo-staff and handing it to Tim. "The blade has a laser edge to it, allowing it to cut through just about anything. The staff has a pulse mechanism — build up enough kinetic energy and you can deliver a pulse that should, theoretically be able to wipe any construct out. Make no mistake, do _not_ hesitate to deal lethal blows against these things. You're not going to survive otherwise, and they aren't alive either way."

Tim gulped as he handled the staff with care. "What about you? Don't you need a weapon too?"

Jason stared at him for a moment, before giving a single nod. Then, he put a hand to his chest and _pulled_. The children stared as a glowing white sword was seemingly summoned from his body, held in his hands as comfortably as any other weapon. While most of the members of Young Justice and Stargirl all wondered it was, Robin and Batgirl immediately grew pale.

"I usually don't summon this weapon unless I fully intend on killing someone," the third Batman admitted. "But in this case, I think I can make an exception."

Tim stepped forward. "But Knight, your soul—!"

"My soul will be fine, Robin. As long as I don't use the more… _fantastic_ abilities, I should be able to use this for the next couple of hours. Even with someone as powerful as Lantern, the battle won't last that long."

The Boy Wonder still looked hesitant, so Jason reached out and gave him a reassuring squeeze to his shoulder. "Trust me, little brother," Jason asked him quietly, gently. After a moment, Tim swallowed and nodded.

That was all Jason need to see. He spun on his heel and faced the oncoming horde, weapon in hand. On both sides of him, his siblings did the same, as the rest of their friends prepared themselves. "You have your orders! Go!"

At once, the group dispersed.

* * *

_Shit, are those red constructs? When did he get a chance to dip into the lake?_

_Does it matter? Listen up! Anyone who relies on close-combat, do_ not _approach the red constructs! They burn like the plasma that Lantern spews from his mouth!_

_How many different powers does this guy have?_

_More than you could ever believe. However, since this is a combat situation, he_ _'ll rely almost exclusively on the left side of the Emotional Spectrum. Red, Orange, and Yellow. Possibly Green as well. The other colors are less combat-oriented, geared more towards support…_

Bruce's expression grew darker as the chaos of the mind link filtered through his head. He heard every thought, felt the sheer panic and fear, and cursed his feebleness. He should be out there, helping his teammates, not watching at the side like some spectator in a peanut gallery.

He wasn't the only one feeling that way. Next to him, Dick was biting at his nails, knowing that several of his friends, including his younger siblings and members of his own team, were out there fighting and there was nothing he could do to help. Diana was on the other side of him, hands to her mouth.

Other heroes, those who had been forced to retreat as per Jason's order, were also watching. Several of them looked grim, while others tried to put the situation out of their minds by administering first aid. Nearby were the villains that Wallace had evacuated, piled together and further restrained by the present heroes. Those that were conscious were also watching, terrified and empty at the realization that they had gotten off _lucky_ with the other Leaguers from Era 2.

But the most notable figures were Hal Jordan and Wally West. Technically, Wally was healthy enough to join the battle himself — however, he was preoccupied with trying to calm down Hal, who seemed to be whiplashing between breaking down at all his crimes and breaking down at the sheer power being displayed by Kyle Rayner. Wally, as his closest relation that was present, was the only person keeping him together.

_WHOOSH!_

"Flash!" Wally yelped as his cousin burst into the scene.

"Flash," Wallace nodded to his cousin. "Batman— _Knight_ ," he quickly corrected when he noticed Bruce watching, "sent me here. We need you over there, quick. Things aren't looking too hot."

Wally looked reluctant, and he glanced at the still-somewhat catatonic Hal.

"Don't worry about him," Wallace told him, "I'm here for his help too."

_That_ caught everyone's attention. " _What?_ " Wally asked, shocked.

Wallace lifted something up for everyone to see as an answer — a ring. A very familiar ring. A very familiar _green_ ring. "I caught it right after White Lantern discarded it. Knight instructed me to hand it over to Jordan. We're going to need all the help we can get out there, and right now there is no one here that can use it better than him." Off to the side, Sinestro almost snorted, but a glare from Wallace stayed him.

Hal stared at the ring for a moment, before shaking his head frantically. "No. I can't. I don't deserve—"

_Deserve? DESERVE? You think this about what you_ deserve _?_ The present heroes winced as Jason's voice boomed in their minds. _Jordan, that shit is for later. Right now, nobody here gives a damn about what you_ _'deserve'. What they give a damn about is trying to break Kyle Rayner out of Savage's control without getting someone killed._

People flinched at the last word. Jason seemed to sense it, judging by his mental sigh. _Look_ _— I get it. We all get it. You_ _'ve done unforgivable things, and you think that being possessed by Parallax is no excuse for that. You think you should be in jail, or even dead. Well, guess what? That's_ _ **bullshit**_ _. You_ _'re no good to anyone like that. If you really want to make up for all the terrible things you've done, if you_ really _want to redeem yourself, then you take that ring and you go out there and you help us. You_ _'re the Greatest of the Green Lanterns — now help us save the Greatest Lantern of them all._

Hal's mouth parted at that, and then he once more glanced down at the ring Wallace was still holding out to him. He glanced up at the other man, the time-traveler, who gave him a single nod. He then glanced at the other heroes, who were all watching him intently. Finally, he looked at Wally, who gave him an encouraging smile.

_You really think I can do it?_ He asked.

_You did it once before, didn_ _'t you?_ Jason answered.

For a brief moment, Hal was bombarded with images of another time. A time where he had managed to recover from his time as Parallax and redeem himself. Where he had helped rebuilt the Green Lantern Corps. Where he had become a _hero_ again.

When the images ended, Hal inhaled a deep breath.

Then he snatched the ring from Wallace's hand, and slipped it on.

* * *

"Move!"

Kori barely had any warning before Donna shoved her away from another blast of red plasma. The plasma dripped to the ground, where it burned for a moment before forming a red construct that proceeded to attack Damage, who quickly destroyed it. The Tamaranean nodded her thanks to her friend, before orchestrating a concentrated attack with her at Kyle, who quickly blocked it with a quick green shield.

He then formed a white construct, this time a laser cannon that looked suspiciously like one from _Lyrical Nanoha_ (at least, according to Tim Drake) and fired. All the heroes almost immediately dived out of the way again, except for Alan Scott (the target) who hadn't been fast enough. Instead, he formed his own shield, pouring all his strength into it — a futile effort. The white energy pierced it easily, breaking it and striking Alan with extreme prejudice.

"Alan!/Scott!" A number of voices called out in worry. When the beam ceased, Alan, significantly more charred and bruised, began to drop, and was quickly caught by Clark.

_Is he alright?_ Several voices asked as one. Clark used his superhearing to zero in on Alan's heartbeat; it was faint, but it was there.

_He_ _'s fine. He's out of the fight, though._

_Give him to me!_ Impulse's voice told him, and Clark looked down to see the boy waving his hands up at him. _I_ _'ll take him to the others!_

Clark quickly descended near to ground-level and handed the prone form of Alan to the speedster. Impulse quickly sped off towards the direction of the injured and fatigued heroes, who had formed something of an impromptu infirmary. The Kryptonian tried not to wince at the thought — they all knew that this mission was going to be difficult, but not _this_ difficult. It was a miracle no one had died yet. As it was, many of the heroes of present were going to be out for days, if not weeks or even months.

_Superman, we need you. Kyle is starting more widespread attacks now that Alan is out of the picture._

_I don_ _'t see how I could be much help besides keeping the heat on him,_ Clark admitted. _He can block my heat vision easy and his shields are strong enough to ward off even someone of my strength. And with his constructs_ _…_

_Let me help with that!_

Clark blinked as a green, glowing figure suddenly entered the battlefield and blocked an electric attack from King Ghidorah, before summoning a massive axe-sword which shot off nine blades of light that cut off all three heads. Jason blinked when he saw the attack, frowning. _Okay, who told Jordan about Nine Lives?_

_What makes you think he didn_ _'t—?_

_Wallace._

_Look, man, it_ _'s Kyle, alright?_

A valid point. Which is all that really needed to be said about the situation. Kyle seemed to agree, which was probably why he dispersed the now headless Ghidorah construct into a number of mini-ground constructs and started forming a number of floating swords a la the Gate of Babylon. Hal quickly countered them with a number of fighter jets, but the disparity in sizes meant a few were missed, forcing the other heroes to dive out of the way again.

Surprisingly, Kyle seemed to ignore them in favor of Hal, following up his Gate of Bablyon attack with an emerald Palkia, who performed Spacial Rend. Hal quickly countered with a massive shield, and then pierced the Palkia construct with a javelin. Kyle grabbed the javelin with a claw, before slicing it with a sword. The constructs dispersed in green, glittering dust as the two men faced off.

Suddenly, Kyle twirled around and spewed red plasma at the invisible M'gann, who had tried to enter his mind from behind. She dodged, but kept her distance, scowling. _No dice. It looks like we_ _'re going have to restrain him for this to work._

_And how should we do that?_ Argent asked, clearly distressed. _He_ _'s been able to ward off every tactic we've tried._

_By using bait._ Jason answered, slicing through a yellow construct while Tim punctured and blew up another one with his staff. _You noticed, didn_ _'t you?_

_He_ _'s focusing on me._ Hal stated, forming two gauntlets around his hands. _Why?_

_Knowing Savage and his sadism, whatever spell he put on us made it so killing those closest to us would be our first priority_ _— aka, the respective members of our families. You_ _'re a member of Kyle's family, and with Scott out of the picture for the time being, he's completely focused on you instead. And he'll probably remain focused on you as long as the rest of us don't attack him._

Hal frowned. _He really cared about me?_

_He looked up to you, Hal._ Donna replied, floating up next to him. _Even when you were Parallax, he still looked up to you. And he never stopped, even after you were_ _…_ she trailed off, but the last word was obvious.

The Green Lantern blinked, and then smiled lightly. Despite everything that had happened lately, he couldn't help but be touched. Sure, he barely knew the kid right now, but…it was nice, to hear.

He shook his head, and got serious again. The sentimentality could be saved for later, after they got the guy back on their side. _Okay, how should we play this?_

_You_ _'re gonna have to do this solo. Everyone else, focus on the ground constructs for now and wait for an opening. M'gann will stay invisible, keep apprised of the situation, and when she gives the signal, all of you will go after him with everything you have and restrain him. Agreed?_

Sounds of mental affirmation followed. Jason shifted his attention to Hal. _Jordan, listen to me_ _— this plan only works if you manage to keep Kyle_ _'s attention almost singularly focused on you. That means you_ cannot _hold back; no screwing around, and no mercy. The former will just give him openings, and both together_ will _get you, and everyone else here, killed. Got it?_

_You really know how to lay the pressure on a guy,_ Hal grumbled as he began approaching Kyle while everyone else started turning their attentions to the rest of the battlefield. _Just like your dad._

_Jordan_ _…_ Jason growled.

_Yeah, yeah, I got it._ Hal replied, growing serious again. _Anything else I should know?_

_He doesn_ _'t need to recharge his ring, so don't bother trying to tire him out,_ Jason instructed. _Also, since it_ _'s you it's possible he'll start forming white constructs to fight you, like he did before with Scott. Since it's the energy of life, it won't kill you; but, as it's the most powerful color of all, you are_ not _going to be able to break any of constructs of that color, nor block any energy blasts._

_So, dodge?_

_Yes. Good luck Jordan_ _— you_ _'re going to need it._

As Hal watched Kyle form a giant green halberd and level it at him, he couldn't help but agree.

* * *

"Do you think he can win?" Tim asked his brother as he tapped his bo-staff onto the ground, creating a shockwave of energy that took out three constructs at once. Jason made a note to build a copy of the staff for him when this was all over. He certainly had something of a knack for it.

Jason snorted. "Win? Hell no. Villains used to cry when they heard the White Lantern was planet-side for a reason." He punctuated that by striking out toward the neck of an orange construct with one hand, kneeing it under the chin before twisting its neck, shattering it. "But, if anyone has a chance of surviving Lantern long enough for this plan to work, it's Hal Jordan. He just needs to let go of his doubts about Parallax to succeed. Otherwise, we're all dead." He cut off the head of an red construct to illustrate his point, jumping back so the plasma wouldn't burn him.

A change in the air revealed that he wasn't out of danger yet, and he ducked to dodge the clubbing swing of another orange construct and spun on his heel to face it. Before he could it down himself, he saw his sister make a running leap towards it, running up its arm and stabbing her sword directly into the top of its head. Immediately, it dispersed, and she dropped into a graceful crouch, giving Jason a nod.

The Batman nodded back, only to freeze when he heard a familiar scream. Almost immediately, the two Waynes glanced back to see their little brother prone on the ground, clutching his leg. His bo-staff was discarded, far away from his reach, and he was quickly surrounded by a number of constructs.

"ROBIN!" Jason screamed, and together Cass and him charged towards their little brother, desperate to reach him before he was finished off.

Suddenly, twin red blurs appeared, bursting through the constructs. One picked up Tim and sped towards Jason, stopping in front of him to hand the young sidekick over. Jason sighed gratefully. "Thank you, Flash," he told Wallace, who simply gave him a quick smile before speeding away to help someone else.

Jason glanced at his sister. "Batgirl, cover me," he ordered, before kneeling to set his brother gently to the ground. He quickly drew out his first aid kit, creating a quick, makeshift splint with some bandages he had. Tim grit his teeth throughout it, trying not to let the tears of pain fall.

Finally, Jason finished, and accessed the mind link. _Impulse_ _—_

"NO!" Tim yelled before he could finish, sitting up. The sudden movement made him wince, but he persevered. "I can still fight! Heal me! I can _fight_!"

"Absolutely not!" Jason shouted back, incensed. "I've already put you through enough danger as it is, letting you stay! You're going now!"

"But—!"

"No buts! You're done!"

Tim grit his teeth. "I am not a child! None of us are! Let us help! So what if we get hurt? You're more important—!"

_DON_ _'T YOU DARE SAY THAT! DON'T YOU_ _ **EVER**_ _SAY THAT!_ Jason screamed into his mind, causing everyone connected to the mind link to wince and a fair few to turn around and stare at them. _Do you honestly think you and your friends aren_ _'t important? That you're expendable just because you're_ young _?_ _You idiot! You stupid, stupid_ _ **idiot**_ _! That makes you the most important people here!_

Whatever retort Tim had died on his throat as he stared at Jason, genuinely stunned. His brother ignored it, the stress of the day having finally gotten to him and sending him onto a tirade. _You might think that it_ _'s your job to ease our burdens, to put the entire world on your shoulders, but it's not. It never was. That is_ our _duty, as the adults. It always has been, and shame on us and anyone else for ever making you believe otherwise._

_No, your duty is to_ learn _. To grow up and live your life, and be happy. Because one day, we_ _'re going to die. We're going to die and leave you behind to mourn and carry on without us. It's sad but it's true. But I, nor anyone else here, is going to let you live through that until we have no choice. Nor are we going to let you bear this burden until we can't carry it ourselves. So yes, you're not going to be fighting any longer. You're going to let Impulse take you to the others, and you're going to recover there with them. Because I'm not going to let you have another opportunity to try and make me bury you before you can have children of your own to protect, just because you think you need to bear the world on your shoulders when there are still plenty of others that can do it for you._ Jason screwed his eyes closed. _Once was already hard enough._

The third Robin finally faltered upon hearing that. Jason cupped his cheek fondly, before sending a mental message to Impulse. The younger speedster arrived, solemn, and gently picked his friend up before speeding away. Jason sighed, putting a hand to his head.

_What are you all looking at?_ He thought gruffly, startling the people that had been watching him. He didn't bother looking back. _That army isn_ _'t going to take down itself._

That galvanized them back into action, and if they started fighting a little harder, he couldn't complain. He felt a comforting nudge from Donna, and returned it with one of his own. After a moment, he stood up, inhaling a deep breath, before turning around to look at sister, who was staring right at him.

"I guess it's too much to ask for you to follow him? Even after that?" Jason said, knowing it was a statement more than a question.

Cass shook her head. "I leave if I cannot fight. But…I can still fight."

"Yeah. I figured," Jason sighed once more, before pressing something on one of his gauntlets and holding out his hand. A second later, he had Tim's borrowed bo-staff back into his hand, which he quickly configured back into a sword. He gestured his sister to come over, taking her own sword and merging it with the one he had into its single sword configuration. Then he went to the switches and flicked one on, causing the edge of the blade to turn red. He turned on another switch, and swung it, noting at how Cass stared at it as flames chased the blade.

He handed the sword back to her, heavier and longer than it was before. She held it with ease, swinging it around just as easily as he would. Good. "Don't hold back," Jason told her, before drawing out his own blade again.

Cass nodded, and together, the two charged back into the fray.

* * *

Hal would not deny that the speech from Batman 2.0 (or 3.0, whatever) got to him. But he also would never admit it, so he just focused on taking down his own successor first. Which was being mighty difficult considering that the kid had no issues countering his constructs as much as he was countering _his_.

Hal Jordan had been a Green Lantern for almost a decade before Parallax got to him, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that he had been a damn good one. The absolute best of the best, with only Sinestro, his old mentor, as a possible equal/superior. He had proven that well enough when he had taken down several of the Corps' best on his own while he had been under Parallax's influence, as shameful as the whole incident was.

But this kid…well, he wasn't really a kid now, was he? If Savage and the others had it right, he was actually older than Hal now, and had been a Lantern for decades. First a Green, now… _this_. And Hal didn't want to know what kind of future he came from where Rayner thought attaining this amount of power was something he needed to do to fight whatever threats that came their way. What crumbs Savage had given them had been ominous enough.

He formed two massive bazookas and fired. Rayner blocked it with a green shield, before forming his own, much bigger bazooka and firing back. Hal negated it with his own energy blast before throwing another fighter jet at him. Rayner dissipated that as well with a flick of his wrist.

_Don_ _'t hold back_ , echoed in his head again, and Hal grit his teeth. Well, when it was a Bat telling him to go all out, then what choice did he have but to obey? Hal drew upon the immense willpower inside of himself, letting it coalesce around him into an emerald armor, before letting out a wave of energy to explode from him and dissipate the green constructs Rayner had tried to form.

The boost in power rocketed him forward, and finally he was able to make Rayner move beyond quick flicks of the wrist. Hal formed a sword and attacked, watching as Rayner blocked every swing with more shields, but Hal was building up momentum and power. Eventually, one particularly harsh slash sent Rayner reeling for a bit, spinning in the air slightly before he righted himself. There was a scowl there, and Hal smirked—

And then there was bright white light.

Hal shielded his eyes as a construct was sketched into existence. It wasn't massive like the three-headed dragon, but it was still a giant. Some kind of quadrupedal creature — a horse? — with a mane-like attachment to its head. It had a cross-wheel attached to its back, with jewels embedded into it. Hal logged the mental image into his head, and then sent it out telepathically. _Can anyone tell me what the hell this is?_

A moment. And then… _Holy shit. That_ _'s an Arceus._

Hal had no idea what an Arceus was.

_It_ _'s basically Pokémon God._

He did, however, know what Pokémon were, if only tangentially.

Suddenly, he was a lot more worried than he was before, and made a quick break for the ground.

* * *

Jason stared up at Kyle's newest construct, the Balance gripped tightly in his hands. _Kon_ _…_

_Shit, shit!_ Wallace's panicked voice echoed through the silent mind link. _I think it_ _'s about to use Judgment!_

_Everyone, brace yourselves!_ Donna warned.

_KON!_ Jason shouted this time, before quickly pulling Cass into his arms and stabbing his mystical sword into the ground, forming a dome shield around them. Not wanting to leave things to chance, he wrapped his cape around his sister, keeping her close and further shielded from the inevitable attack.

All across the battlefield, others followed his lead. Those with energy abilities created shields to guard those that didn't. Others with invulnerability threw themselves towards their comrades, hoping they were invulnerable enough to hold up against the upcoming attack. Many of them did not know what was coming, only that it couldn't be anything good.

Donna had immediately made a break for Wonder Girl and Stargirl, muttering some quick words in Ancient Greek to activate the former's invulnerability before ducking all three of them behind her shield, which expanded to cover them all. M'gann had gone after Arrowette and Secret, dropping her invisibility in favor of pouring all her focus into the telekinetic shield she had formed for them. Wallace had immediately grabbed Impulse and directed Wally with him to Kaldur, who had formed a powerful hard-water shield in front of several heroes, including Aquaman and Tempest.

The only hero left in the air was Kon, who had his eyes closed and his hands out. _One Protect, coming right up!_

A moment, and then…

Arceus used Judgment.

It was super effective.

* * *

Far away from the battlefield, the gathered group of injured and fatigued heroes and restrained villains watched in ever-increasing terror as a rain of light energy blasts fell upon the field in a cruel parody of a fireworks show. Several impacted the ground, causing sizable explosions, while others bounced off of Kon's shield, sputtering and dying into dispersed energy. That was something, at least.

Until the Arceus construct charged up a massive energy blast as its final salvo, and fired it.

Kon did his best to contain the blast with all his telekinesis. He grit his teeth, holding his hands out as he tried to contain and then redirect the energy into the sky. But then the Arceus construct poured on the fire more, and the strain began to heighten. A trail of blood began to droop from his nose as he concentrated all of his efforts onto holding the energy back—

_**BOOM!** _

" _KON!_ " Several voices screamed.

The beam struck true, ramming Kon into the ground and then dragging him across the dirt, carving an uneven trench into the earth. Kon held the shield for as long as possible, before finally curving and redirecting the energy upwards. _NOW, JORDAN!_

Hal, who had been waiting in the wings beneath the Arceus construct, zoomed upwards and tackled Kyle. The break in concentration caused the construct to dissipate as the two Lanterns struggled with each other. Hal tried to hold on while Kyle tried pull him off, scratching and clawing at his arms. Finally, he had enough, and his eyes glowed white as he released a pulse of white energy, throwing Hal off of him.

The other Lantern quickly caught himself in the air, and made another burst for Kyle. Kyle quickly formed a sword, this one of white energy and swung for Hal's head. Hal blocked it with a shield which he quickly reformed with his own sword, and the two began another duel. Knowing that he had no way of breaking any of Kyle's white constructs, Hal instead decided to play dirty, catching the blade between his elbow and his side, trusting his emerald aura to protect him, and then slamming multiple fists into Kyle's wrist in order to break his grasp on the hilt.

Kyle quickly dissipated the construct but soon retaliated by tackling Hal, forming a knife with white energy. Hal quickly worked to block it, but in turn that left him open to multiple knees to his side, each further powered by the white energy. Eventually, Hal's strength waned, but he managed to duck beneath the swipe of the knife, allowing the blade to catching some of his hair instead. Unfortunately, while he avoided the knife, Kyle was able to use the momentum of the swing to follow up with a roundhouse kick, his heel slamming right into Hal's jaw.

Hal spun with the blow, palming and soothing his sore jaw before retaliating with a punch. Years of boxing training, in part due to his time in the Air Force and in part because of his time with the Corps, meant he had a mean right hook. He followed that up with a quick left uppercut and a right straight, sending Kyle spinning away this time. Kyle mimed wiping at his mouth as the two men glared at each other, before going at it again.

A pure brawl had broken out into the sky as the two Lanterns had foregone constructs in favor of energy-powered hand-to-hand combat. As the heroes below began to recover from the Arceus construct's Judgment attack, M'gann turned her invisibility back on and began to move back into position, waiting for an opening to finally enter Kyle's mind. Everyone else began to just watch, not wanting to turn Kyle's attention back on them and initiate another attack like that. Some were tending to those that had not managed to escape the barrage unhurt.

For what seemed like forever, the two Lanterns continued to exchange blows, trying to knock each other out, or at least out of the sky. Punch after punch, kick after kick, energy after energy blast, it went on and on…until Hal's armor began to crack.

It was inevitable. The ring only had so much power, and Hal's own willpower was already pushing the limits of it. Eventually, as the levels began to dip into the red, Kyle's attacks began blowing off portions of the armor, revealing Hal's suit beneath. Hal held out as long as he could, but after the ring announced only 10% charge was left, he dropped the armor in favor of conserving as much energy as possible.

That was all the opening Kyle needed. His ring needed no charge, and that meant he was able to keep up his energy-charged attacks as much as possible. Hal held up his arms in a powerful guard, but a quick barrage of attacks broke through it. Kyle tore through the opening, elbowing Hal in the jaw before giving him a spin kick to the chest. Finally, he rammed his shoulder into Hal's midsection, and drove the man into the ground.

Hal fell with a crash, the resulting wind creating a massive dust cloud that spread across the entire battlefield, blinding everyone. When it faded, they saw that Kyle had mounted him, reforming the knife construct in one hand to finish him off. Already, people were rushing to stop the inevitable.

_NO! DON_ _'T!_

They stopped when they heard Hal warn them off. Despite hesitance, they backed down. _You got a plan, Jordan?_ Jason asked, gripping his sword tightly he kept an eye on the proceedings.

_Yeah,_ Hal replied, _I do_.

Just as he thought that, Kyle stabbed down with the knife. Hal quickly grabbed at his wrists, halting the attack and grappling with the other man. He winced as Kyle began to open his mouth, the insides growing a dangerous crimson red…

…and failing to notice M'gann materializing right behind him.

Suddenly, Hal threw his head forward in a powerful headbutt, stunning Kyle. M'gann dove in, fading into the back of the White Lantern's head. Kyle stayed still for a moment, before slumping forward, the construct in his hand dissipating entirely. Hal caught him before he could he hit the ground, sitting up and holding him as everyone waited for the verdict.

It seemed to last forever, but it only could have been a couple of minutes. Even so, everyone was frozen, apprehensive. Scared that this wouldn't be the end, that they'd have to fight Kyle again, and there was a good chance that none of them would survive if they did.

But, it was for naught. When a tired but satisfied M'gann reappeared from Kyle's mind, practically everyone sagged in relief. They only tensed up again when Kyle fluttered his eyes open and released a loud groan. He grabbed at the back of his head as he sat up and started looking around. He jumped when he saw Hal, only to blink when he got a better look at the other man.

"You're not wearing the Parallax armor," he observed, before meeting Hal's eyes. "…Hal?"

Slowly, Hal nodded.

Whatever Kyle saw in that seemed to satisfy him, and a smile graced his face. "Hal," he said softly, fondly, before throwing his arms around the other Lantern. Hal froze before the tension eased out of him, and he tentatively returned the embrace.

Despite the pain many of them were in, most of the surrounding heroes couldn't help but smile at the scene.

After a minute or so, Kyle let go of the hug, giving Hal another look over. He frowned, before getting up to his feet, helping his friend do the same. He then turned around and scanned over the crowd, and frowned even harder. Then he looked down at his ring. He sighed.

"Did I—"

"Yes," every single one of his teammates answered.

He sighed again, before smirking and lifting his arm up to the sky. The ring glowed blue, before a beam was shot into the sky. Azure sparkles fell atop all the heroes in the vicinity, and a sense of wonder overcame almost all of them when they felt their injuries begin to heal.

"Blue Light of Hope," Kyle explained for everyone, though he was looking directly at an amazed Hal as he did so. "One of its primary abilities is healing."

" _Ring charge increasing to 70%…100%…150%…_ "

"The other is super-charging Green Lantern rings."

Hal stared down at his now glowing green ring, feeling a bunch of conflicting emotions. "You terrify me," he finally said. "But I'm glad you're on our side."

Kyle smiled. "Thanks. So am I."

"So you got him free. That's too bad."

Almost immediately, every hero present whirled around to see a smirking Vandal Savage watching them. The three speedsters charged toward him the moment they caught sight of their enemy, but he teleported away before they could grab him.

"Ah-ah," Savage scolded them, before snapping his fingers. A young teenage girl with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared right in front of him, but before she could escape Savage wrapped an arm around her throat and drew a green, glowing knife from the inside of his sleeve with his other hand. He pressed the blade of the knife against the girl's neck, drawing a short, shallow line of blood. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"HE'S GOT A HOSTAGE!" someone shouted, stopping the wave of heroes from falling on top of the supervillain like an avalanche.

Jason stilled as he recognized the girl. _M_ _'gann, is that…?_

M'gann's eyes glowed for a moment as she reached out and scanned the girl's mind, and cursed. _It is._

Kon, who had realized who the girl was immediately, was completely frozen in place. " _Kara,_ " he breathed out. Next to him, Clark paled when he heard the name.

_Knight_ _—_

_Her human name is Kara Danvers,_ Jason quickly answered before his father could finish. His answer was being projected to everyone in the mind link. _Her Kryptonian name, however, is Kara Zor-El, the Last Daughter of Krypton and the first Supergirl. She_ _'s the paternal cousin of Superman. A_ biological _cousin. Her father was Jor-El_ _'s younger brother._

Now everyone was paling. Jason stepped forward as the rest of the group prepared themselves to attack, the Balance dangling from one of his hands. "What's your game, Savage? You know you don't need the girl to escape. If you have enough power to clone the universe and merge our souls with our counterparts then you certainly have enough power to wipe out every single person here, even White Lantern." He ignored the gaping at his explanation, and glared hard at the caveman, the white lenses of his helmet flashing.

Savage shrugged. "You're correct, Batman. I don't need the girl to escape. In fact, take her." He took the knife away from Kara's throat and shoved her forward, into Jason's arms. Jason quickly dispersed the Balance back into his soul to catch her, holding her steady. Immediately, Kon was there next to him, taking his young cousin away from his friend and into his arms.

When Jason looked back up, Savage was gone. He scowled.

_Don_ _'t worry, little heroes._ Savage's voice suddenly echoed in his head. Jason didn't need to look around to see that everyone was getting the same message. _You_ _'ll see my plan soon enough. Until then, I suggest your prepare yourselves. The game, as you call it, has only just begun._

Then, the voice was gone.

_M_ _'gann._

_He_ _'s not here. Not anymore._

Jason wasn't surprised. He sighed.

* * *

There was no point in checking anyone over for injuries, not with Kyle's abilities. Instead, the Flash's gathered up any remaining weapons and projectiles they could find and handed it off to their respective owners. Then, as one, the group made their way to meet their remaining comrades, who had been watching the entire battle. On the way, Kon and Clark kept close to Kara, explaining, in Kryptonese, who they were and presumably some vague description of the situation. Both of them knew better than to unload everything on the young girl at once, especially since she had just gotten out of a suspended stasis.

Upon arrival, Kyle immediately healed the rest of the remaining heroes, much to their relief. Then, he took a look at the prisoners. It was relatively benign, just a check to see if he recognized anyone and to see if anyone was thinking of running — until he spotted Sinestro, at which point the temperature of the atmosphere ratcheted up several degrees and his visor began glowing red.

Before he could move in on the Korugarian, Jason held an arm out in front of his chest. Kyle looked down, blinking when Jason's hand open to reveal a familiar yellow ring in the palm. The artist stared hard at it for a moment, before smiling.

It was not a kind smile.

A second later, he had taken the ring from Jason's hand and was approaching his most hated enemy. Sinestro watched him, glaring with both disgust and confusion. Kyle paid it no mind as he went down on one knee and presented the ring to the bound Sinestro, placing it in the middle of the palm of his hand.

And then he closed his fist around it, making a show of shuffling his fingers back and forth. When he opened his palm again, all that was left was bits of yellow chunks.

Sinestro's jaw dropped, and he stared up at the other Lantern in horror.

Kyle was still smiling, even as he tilted his palm and let the bits and pieces fall to the ground. He stood back up, and placed his boot on it, grinding it until it was all dust. Then, he leaned down and patted Sinestro on the cheek. "Don't worry about the Central Battery, by the way," he mentioned conversationally. "I'll be sure to destroy it the next time I make a visit to the Anti-Matter Universe."

That said, he turned on his heel and walked away.

The mission was over. It was time to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And finally, the chapter has ended, and the fic is now on hiatus. I'm not sure when I'll update again, but it won't be for a while. You might get an interlude or two though, depending on my mood.
> 
> Kara is here, and she's going to get a lot of focus in the following chapters. If you've read _The Supergirl from Krypton_ storyline in the comics, or watched _Superman/Batman: Apocalypse_ , you'd know why. However, if you don't, I'm not going to spoil anything for you.
> 
> If you're think Kyle is OP, you'd be right. He is by far the most OP character in the JL. That was balanced out by the fact, however, that he was only on Earth for like one week every month, if that. Even still, he was well-known enough to scare the shit out of everyone there.
> 
> As for Jason, in his adult body he's heads and above effectively every normal combatant in the story, especially with the suit and weapons. Skill-wise, I hesitate to say he's better than Shiva or Richard Dragon, but he's certainly in their weight class and could give them a run for the money. Compared to people with actual superpowers, however, he's a comparative lightweight. Hence, he's the weakest member of the Era 2 Council.
> 
> As for the others, any one of them could be considered second to Kyle, it's just largely dependent on what the situation is. Some excel better than others in certain types of battles. It is what it is.
> 
> Well, this it for a while. I highly suggest you update the TV Tropes Page — I've further divided up the Characters Page for further editing, and I'm going to link the index page in the AO3 version, in the first chapter, beneath the summary. The main page, however, needs some love too. You can reread this story, reread _one day at a time_ , or (re)read _To Hell and Back_ , which is going to be my focus for the upcoming months. That story's page could use updating too, FYI.
> 
> Next Chapter (when I get around to it): the aftermath.


	23. Integration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the rescue, everyone, once again, has to get used to a new normal.

"I'm not happy."

The teens flinched at Jason's cold, unamused tone, trying not to meet his harsh gaze. They were currently sitting in an isolated lounge in one of the higher levels of the JSA's Brownstone in Civic City. With the Watchtower still out of commission, the heroes had convened there after the battle to discuss the aftermath after dropping off all the supervillains with the regular authorities. Many were currently being checked out by Doctor Mid-Nite, not wanting to take any chances despite Kyle having healed all injuries before they left Infinity Island.

Jason had quickly requested (read: ordered) all the younger heroes to meet with Donna and him in private, after asking for use of the lounge from Jay Garrick. Knowing what was to come, the children had tried to wiggle out of it, but a look from their own (non-time traveling) mentors stayed them — there was _no_ getting out of it. Which had led them to here: the young heroes all seated together on a crescent couch, wilting under the dual glowers of the third Batman and the second Wonder Woman.

"We are not going to deny your contributions to the battle," Jason continued, voice deliberately even. "If it had not been for you, things wouldn't have gone nearly as well as they ended up going."

Cissie's head shot up. "You called that as things going _well_?"

"Yes. Because, by God's grace or some other kind of miraculous power, no one _died_ ," the man stated flatly. "There were a couple of close calls, but in the end, we all made it out okay. And trust me, considering that we were facing off against Kyle Rayner, that is the Devil's luck at play. If he had gone all out, we would've all been stains on that godforsaken island."

The teenagers froze. "He…wasn't going all out?" Tim squeaked.

Jason gave a half-shrug. "No. Kyle can destroy a planet with a flick of his wrist if he wished. I once saw him do it. Thankfully, whatever spell Savage had on him muted his emotions, weakening him. He probably didn't with planet destroyed any more than we did, and acted accordingly." He leveled another glare at them. "Now do you understand why they didn't want you there? Granted, the JLA, the JSA and the Titans weren't aware about us, but they _were_ aware of the dozens upon dozens of villains that were supporting Savage in containing and using us. There was a reason they didn't want you there. You could've died. Hell, you almost _did_."

"What he's trying to say is that we're proud of you for doing so well under so much pressure," Donna cut in before Jason could _really_ get going, "But the fact of the matter is that you disobeyed orders and put all of yourselves in unnecessary danger. It worked out this time, but there's no guarantee of a similar result if you do it again."

"So, you're getting rewarded _and_ punished," Jason continued, expression softening a tad. "This upcoming weekend is the beginning of Spring Break for all of you, luckily enough." There was a cough from Tim's direction that Jason deliberately ignored; luck had nothing to do with their synchronized breaks. "We've talked it over with your guardians and with your mentors so you'll be staying with us for not just the weekend, but also for Monday through Wednesday as well. Your reward is that you won't have to cook at all this week — I'll handle the cooking."

Looks of relief were exchanged between the younger heroes.

"You punishment is that you get to spend your entire first day on drills with Donna." The woman in question smiled innocently and gleamingly, causing her students to stare at her in apprehension.

"Uh…Jason?" Everyone glanced at Cassie, who hesitatingly put up her hand. "Considering everything, including, well…" she glanced at both her teachers, grimacing. "…won't this affect training too? I mean, what are we supposed to call you two and Kon in the field now?"

Jason and Donna exchanged a look, before glancing down at their own bodies. Even after liberating Kyle and Savage's disappearance, the Era 2 Justice League had yet to return to their original bodies, instead remaining in the prime ones that Savage had 'gifted' back to them when he had brainwashed them. Bruce had already called in Zatanna and Constantine to see if anything could be done, but everyone knew it was unlikely to be that simple. Whatever power Savage had at his fingertips had managed to clone an entire universe; even for the likes of Zatanna, that magic could not be easily broken.

It wasn't that they _minded_ being back in their original bodies — Jason and Kon in particular felt more like themselves than in what seemed like forever. But being back in these bodies caused its own slew of problems, considering several of them had civilian identities that would be immediately compromised if they went out in public like this, all aged up after it was exposed to the supervillain community that there were a bunch of time-traveling heroes around; especially Jason, who was a minor celebrity. Not to mention the fact that it was _Savage_ who was responsible for this. Even now, they were all waiting for the other shoe to drop. It always did, with things like this.

"Just call us what you would usually would, before all this," Jason told them, rubbing his arm. "It's just easier that way, even if there's something of a visual dissonance going on now."

"And what about the others? They're going to be teaching us too, aren't they?"

"That's technically still under discussion," Donna interjected before Jason could answer, "but most likely, yes. We will need to determine alternate names for Wallace and Kaldur, but you can just call M'gann Miss Martian."

"And Kyle will be White Lantern for the time being," Jason added. "I have no doubt that he'll manage to convince Hal Jordan to get back in the saddle and become Green Lantern again. Especially since they're likely going into space soon, trying to reform the Green Lantern Corps. Jordan will want to be a part of that."

Tim nodded, before adopting a pensive look. "And what about the new girl, Kara? Wasn't she a hero too? Is she going to join us in our training?"

The older heroes exchanged a look. "That has yet to be determined as well," Donna replied.

* * *

"No."

Kon rubbed one of his temples and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Clark…"

"How can you even _think_ of sending her away?" Clark demanded, incensed. "She's our family! She needs us!"

"I'm not saying we send her away immediately, but—"

"But nothing! She's now on a foreign world, lost and confused. She needs stability, not be shunted away like some problem child—"

"DO YOU THINK I WANT TO SEND HER AWAY!?" Kon snapped, shouting. Clark stepped back, eyes wide. Upon seeing that, Kon took in a deep breath, calming himself down, but the steely glint remained in his gaze.

"You've only just met her, Clark," Kon said slowly, seriously. "But me? I knew her for close to fifteen years. She's practically a sister to me, and losing her…God, losing her hurt me in a way that's never completely healed. The last thing I want is to let her leave my sight. If the world were kinder, I'd keep her by my side and shield her from it all. But I can't, and neither can you. We have far too many responsibilities to dedicate ourselves to watching one girl, no matter how much we love her." Jason had only just barely managed that with his own family, and that was only because his own skillset allowed him to do most of his work at home. Kon did not have that luxury; he was not a strategist and detective like his friend. If he wanted to make change, he had to be in the thick of it, and that offered little time for much else.

Clark grimaced. Kon was right, he knew that, but… "But still, Themyscira? Even with our powers, we won't be able to visit often. Ma, Pa, Lois and even Jon — they won't be able to visit at all."

Kon sighed and glanced at the glass window that acted as a peerview into the infirmary. Inside, Kara was being scanned for treatment by Doctor Mid-Nite, J'onn and Kyle to make sure that where Savage had dragged her from didn't have any long-lasting effects. They had already drained her of the Kryptonite poisoning that had caused her dementia in the last timeline, which Kon would be forever be grateful for. That would make Kara so much easier to deal with when they finally talked to her about this.

"Clark, she isn't like you, or even me. She grew up on another planet and has now suddenly found herself on this one, with powers she has no idea how to control. If we had the time, I would have us teach her ourselves. But the simple truth is that we don't. You already have your hands full with your own son and with Metropolis. I've got my hands full dealing with all the more troublesome threats that will pop up in our future, and this recent stunt by Savage is going to double my workload even more. Not to mention training my own old teammates." The clone leaned his shoulder against the wall, his eyes trained on his cousin's face. "With the Amazons, at least, she'll have both dedicated teachers and a chance to make friends that she won't have to be afraid of breaking just because she sneezed or something. If all goes well, she'll complete her training within two months and then she can join the family properly and decide what she wants to do with her life from then out."

His own mentor and predecessor frowned. "That's an oddly specific time table," Clark noted, narrowing his eyes. "This happened last time, didn't it?"

"Yes," Kon admitted bluntly. "You were stubborn and refused to get her solid training. Diana had to stage an attack with her Amazon sisters to convince you to concede. It put a strain on your relationship with Kara because it felt like you weren't giving her any agency in her life."

"And how will this be any different?"

"Because we're going to explain everything to her immediately, including why she needs to go to Themyscira," Kon patiently explained. "And then, we tell her that as soon as she's deemed ready, she can decide to do what she wants with her life. As opposed to just playing tug-o-war with her with Diana while Bruce is being an unhelpful and paranoid interloper."

Clark crossed his arms. "And why two months? It shouldn't take her _that_ long to learn control."

Kon didn't answer.

He didn't have to. Clark already knew the answer. "Who's after her, Kon?" he asked, this time his voice softer but with an undercurrent of anger.

Kon didn't take any offense, he knew the anger wasn't directed at him. Instead, he sighed again. "Darkseid," he answered, spitting the name like poison.

Clark froze. " _What._ "

"Ever since Barda's defection, he's been looking for a new captain for his Furies, but none of the candidates have been up to snuff." Kon's eyes flashed red as his own gaze met Clark's horrified one. "But Kara is a Kryptonian. Under a yellow sun, her strength is only equaled by us and second to him. She can take the post easily, and did for a time in the last timeline after he kidnapped her and brainwashed her. You, Bruce, and Diana managed to rescue her, but that just invited him to Earth to kill you and her in retaliation. We had to fake her death in order to get him to back off."

"God…" Clark muttered, a hand to his head. "Is there any guarantee?"

"I can't say," Kon admitted, shrugging again. "We don't have any intel on the current ongoings of Apokalips. But considering how things have been going lately, it's best to prepare for the worst."

Clark sighed and took a look through the window himself. Kara was currently holding a conversation with Kyle, one of the few people besides a fellow Kryptonian that could speak to her. They were talking about Kyle's occupation as an artist, about one of his more recent works. They were getting along well, Clark noted with some fondness. "She doesn't need to learn just control, does she?"

"No," Kon said, looking wistful for a moment. Memories of the first Supergirl, one of the greatest heroines to have ever lived, flashed through his mind. "She needs to learn how to fight. Because regardless of whether or not she becomes Supergirl, she's always going to be a target. Whether by virtue of being our cousin, or by virtue of being a Kryptonian…there are always going to be people after her. And we can't always be there to protect her. So the best way to protect her—"

"—is to teach her how to protect herself," Clark finished. "…Can she at least meet the family first?"

"I don't see why not. It won't take her long to learn English and us Kents have been dealing with Jon and his powers for ages now. She's not going to be much different, just stronger." Kon rubbed his arm. "It will also give the Bats enough time to draw up a solid civilian identity for her and give her time to learn her cover. You know; just in case."

Clark closed his eyes. "…Fine. But you're going to have to be the one to explain this to her. You'll be better at handling it than me."

* * *

Wallace hummed he scrolled through the primer the first Batman had handed him upon their arrival to the Brownstone. It was a general file Jason had written up about all the changes to the timeline since his arrival, downloaded onto a tablet for easy reading. Two other copies had been handed to Kaldur and M'gann, who were seated right next to him, reading the file at their own paces.

They were seated at a meeting table, being watched by various members of the JLA. Bruce, of course, was present with a harsh and distrustful expression on his face. Not surprising; he doubted even Jason's influence would be able to soften his stance against unknowns like them. Especially since Kaldur had tried to kill Black Manta; the first Batman wouldn't get along with him, simply for that. Wallace doubted his own brutality would win him any points either.

Another was Diana, something to be grateful for. She was reasonable and the three of them knew her well, had worked with her for several years before she retired to ascend Themyscira's throne. If there was anyone here on their side, it was her — even if she herself didn't realize it. Depending on how the conversation went, they could expect her to at least give them the benefit of the doubt.

Then there was Arthur and Wally. Wallace could immediately tell that Arthur still didn't know what to think of Kaldur. Not entirely surprising; even after decades working together, Wallace didn't know what to think of his friend at times either. He didn't doubt the man's heart, or his friendship, but Kaldur had always held himself at a distance from them. A certain aloofness, born of his utter devotion to Atlantis and to Atlanna in particular. He imagined Arthur was in a similar predicament. There was no questioning Kaldur's loyalty to him, not after Kaldur had attempted to kill Black Manta for his sake, but…well, things weren't as simple as that.

Wally, Wallace noticed with some sadness, was the same with him. He couldn't exactly blame his cousin, Wallace hadn't hesitated with his own viciousness when it came to their Rogues. One might argue he shouldn't have been so harsh, but Wallace refused to admit that was a mistake. They were in the midst of battle with several villains and a single lapse could've meant life or death. Wallace had lived with the consequences of such mistakes all his life, and he wouldn't dare to make them himself, not after all this time.

But, it seemed, it had come at the cost at what should've been easy camaraderie with his cousin. Wally was apprehensive of him now, even scared. It hurt to see. Wallace had missed him so much.

"Huh."

The two men glanced at their third. M'gann was biting a nail, looking annoyed. "What is it, M'gann?" Kaldur asked.

"J-Batman died again," she responded, careful not to use Jason's real name. That would've been an easy way to get on Bruce's bad side. Wally and Diana knew his identity already, but Arthur didn't, and Bruce would probably want to keep it that way.

Wallace stilled. "Are you serious?" He sounded incredulous.

"Yes."

The speedster groaned, while Kaldur sighed. "At least that explains the sword," the half-Xebelian pointed out.

"What are we going to do with him?" Wallace complained. Jason had done his best to curb his recklessness over the years, owed to the fact that he had children waiting for him at home, but it always seemed to flare out regardless. The simple fact of the matter was that for all his skill and magical weapons, the third Batman was every bit as human as his predecessors, and if it weren't for a combination of that skill and sheer, inhuman amounts of luck, those kids would've been orphaned long before they actually were.

Kaldur snorted. "Nothing. Donna probably already has a handle on it."

M'gann chuckled. "Oh, definitely. God, I've missed her." She leaned forward to look at them both, looking nostalgic. "I've missed all of you."

Wallace met her gaze, the depths of sadness and loss. _You're always the one left behind, aren't you M'gann_? "I wish I could say the same. Last thing I remember is the Speed Force." _And the lightning burning me into nonexistence._

"I don't remember anything at all," Kaldur confessed. "Just went to sleep and woke up here. What about you, M'gann?" _You were the last of us. No one knows how you died._

"Despero."

"Ah." No one pressed any further.

They heard Bruce clear his throat, and shifted their collective attention towards him. He was glaring at them all, clearly attempting to intimidate them. Wallace rolled his eyes, while Kaldur and M'gann's expressions remained perfectly blank.

"Yes, Batman?" M'gann asked politely.

"Are the three of you all caught up?"

"Give me a sec," Wallace said, then quickly sped through the screen. "Okay, now I'm done."

"I will need to fully read and digest the file later, but I should be able to keep up with the conversation," Kaldur stated calmly, setting down the tablet and turning off the screen.

M'gann simply gave a half-shrug. "I'm good."

The first Batman continued to glare at them all, before standing up. "Very well. It's time for the meeting, then."

* * *

'The meeting', as Batman called it, was the third mass-meeting in the last several weeks. Considering the unexpectedly positive outcome of the last battle (Savage's ominous warning notwithstanding), that meant basically everyone was hale and hearty enough to attend. However, considering the relatively small size of the JSA's meeting chamber, the lack of sufficient furniture to accomodate everyone, and general tensions between all five teams, only a select few had been invited in.

Young Justice had been excluded entirely. It had been deemed that nothing of what was going to be discussed pertained to them specifically, and either way everyone was still mad at them for essentially bullying their way into the rescue mission. The same went for Batgirl (who had no team) and for Stargirl. No one below the (mental) age of eighteen was going to be allowed to attend.

After further discussion, it was determined that only representatives from all three remaining teams, specifically connected to the members of the Era 2 JL, would be present. For the JSA, that meant Jay Garrick and Alan Scott; for the Titans, that meant Nightwing, Tempest, and Jesse Quick; and for the JLA, that meant the core members: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and the Flash. Hal Jordan had also been invited on Kyle's request, even though he was still withdrawn over his actions as Parallax.

The group sufficiently sized down, they had all gathered around the circular table that bore the JSA's iconic symbol. After some hesitance, a debrief began, in which the time travelers recounted what happened during their time in Savage's captivity. Including the truth about their 'time travel'.

"A cloned universe?" Wally blurted out, shocked. "But how is that even possible?"

Jason exchanged a look with Kyle, who was sitting on the other side of Donna. "We've got a couple of theories, but nothing concrete so far. Maybe Zatanna or Constantine can get something off us when they get here. Otherwise, we'll have to capture Savage himself for answers."

"And what fun that will be," Kyle muttered sarcastically. Kaldur, who was sitting on the other side of him, gave him an elbow to the ribs.

His other friends astutely ignored him. "Anyway," Jason continued, "that's not the immediate problem. It's unlikely that either of them, or even Doctor Fate, will be able to undo the spell on us. In that event, we need to decide…temporary measures, pertaining to our civilian identities."

He got several blank looks. Thankfully, none from his family, but that was a cold comfort.

"What Bat- _Knight_ , Knight," M'gann shot him a look. "Why the hell are you call yourself something as cumbersome as 'Gotham Knight' of all things? No, never mind, whatever. Anyway, what Knight is trying to say is that, with the exception of myself, everyone here has a civilian identity, and people are going to notice if they show up like…" she gestured to her teammates. "… _this_."

Realization dawned on several faces.

"Well," Jay Garrick started slowly, "we could make up fake identities for you, so you can stay with us?"

"And what about the disappearances of our _actual_ identities?" Donna pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "How are you supposed to explain that without a sufficient body double? We don't know how long we're going to be stuck like this."

Jay didn't have an answer. It seemed no one did.

"We can't stay home."

Wally whipped his head around and gave his younger(?) cousin a disbelieving look. "What, Wallace? No! Aunt Iris will go spare—!"

"I'm not saying we won't _visit_ , Wally," Wallace cut him off before he could go further. "But we can't _stay_. Many of us look too much our younger selves, and suddenly showing up in the lives of our loved ones under false names after the disappearances of our original identities is just begging for our secret identities to be blown to hell. Kyle and Donna might be able to manage and M'gann is a shapeshifter with no secret identity right now, but the rest of us? It's not going to work."

"He's right, West," Bruce said, shutting down any response the other speedster might have had. "They have to go in hiding for now. At least until we can find some way to revert them back."

Upon hearing that, Wally faltered, and sighed. "Where are you going to stay, then?"

Wallace adopted a mischievous look. "Well, the Manor—"

"No."

Everyone looked at Jason, who had his arms crossed. Nobody could see beneath his helmet (not even with X-Ray Vision), but they could just _feel_ the glare burning into them all.

"Not just no, but _fuck no_ ," he continued, ignoring the admonishing looks and the shout of 'Language!' from the JSA members. "I am not having you assholes live at my house. Last time I let that happen you nearly ate me out of—"

"Oh, come off it!" Wallace shouted before he could finish. He stood up and jabbed a finger in Jason's direction. "You're rich! Hell, you were letting Donna live there full-time before all this!"

Kaldur snorted. "We all know why that is," he commented. M'gann and Kyle both gave agreeing nods.

Jason ignored him and stood up himself, mirroring Wallace. "If you want to freeload, why don't you freeload at Rayner's! He's got plenty of room!"

Kyle shot right up, slamming hands onto the table. "Oh, screw you! I'm a broke starving artist—"

"Who lives in a two-bed studio apartment."

"That's not nearly enough room—"

"Before anyone asks," Kon interjected, "None of you are allowed to stay at the farm."

"Ah, come on Kon! We can pull our weight—"

Donna cleared her throat. The argument immediately ceased as everyone glanced at her.

"We can just stay at the Catskills Base," she said pleasantly. They all stared at her for a moment, before Jason sighed and dropped down, slumping back into his seat.

"Catskills works," he admitted.

"It does," Wallace agreed, sitting back down.

"I'll tell Ma and Pa."

Kyle looked contemplative. "I've got to deal with my lease…and my job…"

"Mother and Father will need to know."

"Can I stay with one of you until the base is complete? I mean, since the Watchtower is still being rebuilt and all—"

"If you are all _done_?"

The room fell silent again as every eye landed on Bruce. While some looked apprehensive, the formerly bickering heroes just looked annoyed. Bruce felt his irritation rise — was _no one_ scared of him anymore? — and tried not to let it show.

"We have been giving you leeway in the amount of information about the future you've been willing to part with. But in light of everything that's happened recently, we can no longer allow you to hold back. At the very least, we need to know the major crises of the next five years—"

"Done."

Batman did not blink. But he was very close to it.

His son lifted one of his gauntlets, and a holographic interface burst from it. Jason typed in a few commands and the interface disappeared, and a USB drive was produced by his other gauntlet. He slid it over the table to his father, who caught it absentmindedly.

"That contains everything that will happen in the next five years, including incident reports and profiles. Quick warning, it's a lot — at _least_ two petabytes of data, probably more," Jason causally exposited, leaning back into his chair. "I suggest you share it with Oracle, let her help you sift through it. Or don't, and I'll just give it to Oracle next time I see her."

Bruce stared at the USB drive for a moment, befor giving a single nod.

"What now?" Clark asked. "What are your plans? Your civilian identities may be on the backburner for now, but you've made it clear that your superhero identities aren't."

"Other than training the children?" Jason noted, then shrugged. "Mostly dealing with any threats that you can't deal with for the time being. In particular, we want to make sure this recent stunt by Savage doesn't lead to the beginning of another Secret Society. That's the last thing we need right now."

"Secret Society?" Diana asked, confused.

Jason nodded toward the USB drive. "It's in there. Long story short, it was the Legion of Doom, except it included almost all villains and acted more like a protection racket. It was made in response to a certain incident that won't happen anymore. I made sure of that. Well, that and what happened to Doctor Light."

Dick blinked. "Doctor Light? That loser? Why would supervillains band around _him_?"

His Titans teammates and the JSA representatives similarly looked confused, as did J'onn J'onzz, Wally West, and Arthur Curry. However, the remaining JLA members (and Hal Jordan) adopted perfectly blank looks, which more-or-less betrayed their guilt. As did the winces from the Era 2 JL.

"How—?" Superman began asking. He didn't get to finish.

"After Sue Dibny was murdered, he was the prime suspect. Green Arrow led a team to arrest him, and over the course of the battle he started to remember what they did to him."

There were now various looks of horror around the room. "Sue was murdered?" Arthur demanded.

"Yes," Jason admitted candidly, if grimly. "Don't worry, we've already dealt with that situation. It was one of the first things Batman and I did after I came back." He shot a speculative look towards the Trinity. "What I want to know is how you three found out. If I remember correctly, Green Arrow and the others went through great pains to hide it from you."

"They didn't go far enough," Bruce grunted. "Once you told me what was going to happen and gave me the clues, it didn't take long for me to begin spotting the threads and start piecing things together. Superman always had his suspicions and shared them with Wonder Woman and myself, and after that…" He left the statement hanging.

"Hal?" Alan piped up, noticing how the other man had begun to retreat into himself as the conversation went further along. "What's wrong? Did you have something to do with this?"

Hal flinched. Now everyone was watching him. "I…" He screwed his eyes closed for a moment.

"Hal," Kyle spoke, trying to soothe his predecessor, "I'm sorry. But it's going to come out either way. Either you tell them, or we do."

A sigh. And then, "Several years ago…we had Zatanna rewrite Doctor Light's personality to be less… _offensive_."

There was a beat of silence.

" _What_ ," Nightwing grit out.

Almost immediately after that, the shouting began. Several of the Era 1 heroes shot up from their seats and began demanding answers from Hal, who looked a combination of guilty and downtrodden, completely unable to get a word out. Others were shouting admonishments and recriminations. The only ones that managed to keep their composure were the Trinity (who were still glaring at Hal nonetheless), and the time travelers, who looked more tired and resigned than anything else. After several minutes of shouting, Kon gave a look to Jason, who sighed (he was sighing a lot today) and lifted his arm, recreating the holographic interface and typing a few commands into it.

The sound of a airhorn blasted throughout the room, piercing the cacophony. Almost immediately, everyone grabbed their ears, wincing at the sound. Once he was certain he had everyone's attention, he cut the sound off. "Sit down," Kon ordered. After some reluctance, everyone did.

"Who?" Nightwing said. It was not a request.

"Ray Palmer, Barry Allen, Ralph Dibny, Hawkman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Zatanna, and Jordan," Bruce listed off, staring at Jason. "Am I correct?"

Jason nodded solemnly. "You were there too, but you voted no. So everyone agreed to wipe your memory as well."

Bruce's nostrils flared. "Black Canary failed to tell me that."

"Unsurprising. You were probably angry enough as it was, and even Oracle's protection stretches so far in Gotham."

"Why?" Arthur demanded, staring hard at his friend. "Why would all of you agree to do this?"

Hal hesitated. Jason didn't.

"It's because Doctor Light raped Sue Dibny."

Another silence fell upon the room, this one much more hushed.

"To be more specific," Jason continued, ignoring the looks everyone was giving him. "Light managed to sneak into the JLA satellite, corner Sue, and rape her. After he was captured, he was gloating about how he would eventually escape prison and shout to anyone that could hear about how he raped the Elongated Man's wife. So, to help preserve Sue's dignity and eliminate the threat Light posed, they decided to not just wipe away Light's memory of the event, they also elected to rewrite his personality entirely so he could never do such a thing again. Hence, the 'loser' you and the Titans always faced off against, Nightwing."

Dick looked sick. "You're telling me that all those people allowed the Teen Titans to fight and make fun of a _known rapist_?"

"Who you already knew as a child murderer even before that," Donna lightly reminded him, though the lack of a smile on her face made it clear that she was perfectly aware of the implications. Of course she was, Dick realized. Donna had lived through this before.

"How could you ever think this was a good idea?" J'onn's scarlet eyes fell upon Hal, who swallowed. "Ralph already had a public identity; Sue wasn't any safer before what you did to Light than she was after. You might've rid the world of one rapist but what about all the others?"

Hal swallowed. "I'm not going to make any excuses. In hindsight, it was a stupid thing to do. The _wrong_ thing to do. But we just wanted to give Ralph and Sue some peace of mind, and this seemed like the best way."

"The best way would've been to reform the justice system and ensure Light could never get out of prison," Bruce responded tersely.

"Oh, like you're one to talk!" Hal snapped. He had never gotten along well with Bruce, and it seemed he was sick of taking a beating from all sides. "How's Arkham doing, by the way?"

"That is not relevant to this discussion—"

"Like hell it isn't—!"

_SKREE!_

"Enough," Kon said, standing up. He looked imposing like that, and combined with Donna's placid smile and the ominous non-expression of Jason's helmet, it made him all the more authoritative. Both Bruce and Hal backed down, though they continued to shoot glares at each other. "Whether we like it or not, it's done. Now we have to deal with the consequences."

"Like this Secret Society?" Diana spoke, sounding slightly skeptical.

"Yes. We're not sure they'll form in this timeline considering all the changes and how badly we broke the current alliance of villains, but you can never be too sure. And as for Light, we have to make sure he stays locked up in prison."

"Or we could just have Waller recruit him," Kaldur casually stated.

"Wouldn't work," Jason reminded him, ignoring the recent bout of horrified stares. "He tried to join the Squad once, and even they rejected him."

Kyle hummed. "I could take him to space. Or maybe seal him in a crystal prison with Violet Power of Love."

"Don't those things brainwash their prisoners?" Wallace wondered, "How is that any better than what Zatanna did?"

"Those things only release their prisoners after they learn to love someone. Since Light isn't going to love anyone but himself…" The White Lantern shrugged. "I never said it was a _good_ idea."

"I'd suggest Themyscira, but I don't want to soil the sands of my home by allowing him to step on a single inch of it."

"Same with the Fortress."

"I could—" M'gann began.

" _No_ ," was the collective response.

Bruce cleared his throat. "The League will decide what to do with Light at a later date. Seeing as he's currently in prison right now, it's not a pressing matter. I motion to move on from this topic, and put it on hold for discussion at a later date."

Murmurs of agreement followed that statement. Nightwing looked belligerent, and both Jason and Bruce resigned themselves to a solid grilling from him after the meeting was over. _Maybe I should give him access to the files as well_ , Jason mused. God knows Dick would be a lot more rational with information than Bruce was going to be.

"Moving on," Bruce began, before shifting his gaze towards Hal. "What are we going to do with him?"

Everyone cringed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, everyone! Here's your gift from me!
> 
> I hoped I conveyed the differences between Era 1 and Era 2 well. Make no mistake, those differences are going to be a major theme in this story, and eventually you'll get to see _why_ Era 2 is the way it is.
> 
> Next Chapter: The meeting continues.


	24. Aquaman III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The meeting continues, as everyone discusses Hal's fate.
> 
> Later, Jason gives Bruce some insight into Kaldur.

"He's coming with me to reform the Green Lantern Corps."

Kyle's announcement was met with a beat of disbelieving silence. Jason resisted the urge to palm his face. While he appreciated the candid honesty of his era, it was times like this that made him wished that didn't pave the way for such blatant bluntness. _Goddamit, Kyle. Can't even bother to ease them into it, can you?_

Bruce, of course, did not take this well. "We need to ensure he's no longer under Parallax's control—"

"He isn't." Kyle flourished his hand and opened his palm to reveal a small orb with a flaxen-colored insect inside. Everyone goggled at the sight.

"Kyle," Jason started, trying to keep his voice calm. "Are you telling us that, during the interim where we were coralling the remaining villains on Infinity Island and figuring out a way to transfer them to proper authorities, you managed to track down Parallax to whatever pocket dimension Savage banished it to, defeat it, _miniaturize it_ , and capture it?"

"Yes." At least he was honest.

"And you couldn't bother to _tell us that_?" Jason didn't shriek, but it was a near thing.

Kyle shrugged. "We had more important things to worry about. Don't worry, I've got things under control." He snapped his fingers and Parallax popped away.

"But…" Hal trailed off, suddenly very off-balance. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"Hal, what else are you going to do? Coast City is still in the process of being rebuilt, and you're going to have to explain yourself to John, Guy, and Carol either way. And like it or not, the universe _needs_ the Green Lantern Corps." Kyle lifted his right hand, showing off the white ring he wielded. Many couldn't help but flinch at the sight — it was, after all, the weapon that had nearly slaughtered four major superhero teams. "I might wield the most powerful ring in the universe, but I'm just one man. I can't hope to guard every sector by myself."

"But—I don't deserve this ring! John, or Guy, they remained loyal to the Corps to the end. But me…I gave into Parallax, I destroyed the Corps—"

"Hal, you were under Parallax's influence for _years_ before you finally gave in, and that was after suffering one of the worst tragedies any of us have ever had to endure," Kyle retorted firmly, cutting the other man off. "You might have the strongest will in the universe, but any man would've broken under that kind of weight. _I_ would've broken under that weight. After all, I've been possessed by Parallax as well."

The second Green Lantern's jaw dropped as shock overcame his entire expression. His contemporaries were also surprised.

" _You_ were possessed by Parallax?"

Kyle looked away, mind brimming with memories. "In the last timeline. I…well, there are reasons I hate Sinestro so much. That was one of them." One of _many_.

Hal looked down at that, lose. "I…" His mouth felt dry.

There was the sound of a sigh, of a chair being moved, and he looked up to see Kyle approaching him. The younger(?) man sat himself on the edge of the table, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hal. I get it. But let me ask you this — do you honestly think you'll be able to step away, now that you know that you have the chance to atone for all your mistakes?"

Hal pursed his lips, and then shook his head. Kyle smiled.

"I thought so. But if you still believe that you don't deserve that ring…" The artist reached out and slid the ring away from Hal's finger. He observed it for a moment, before clasping it between both his hands and closing his eyes. White light glowed from his own ring and from the Green Lantern ring, before quickly fading away.

Kyle then handed back the ring. All three of them.

Everyone stared as the three Green Lantern rings fell into Hal's open palm, eyes wide. "How…?" Hal asked, head shooting up to meet Kyle's gaze. "I thought only the Guardians could create new rings?"

The White Lantern furrowed his brow. "The Qwardians would take offense to that, I'll have you know. Along with many others when we head up into space. But as for me? It's something I picked up from you." He smirked.

Hal blinked, before staring down at the rings in awe. "Seriously?"

"Forged it from your own willpower, then you taught me the theory. I couldn't employ it myself until I became the White Lantern, but…" Kyle shrugged. "Either way, there's one for you, one for John, and one for Guy. We'll need to track down Ganthet, and someone is probably going to have to stay behind to be the JLA's resident Lantern, but it's a start." He peered down at Hal, tilting his head in amusement. "That is, if you're up to it."

There was another a moment of silence as everyone waited for Hal's answer. Eventually, the man nodded, sliding one of the rings onto his hand and giving Kyle a determined look. "I'm in."

Kyle's smile turned into a grin, and he gave Hal a congratulatory pat onto his shoulder. "Good man," he praised, before glancing at his teammates. "We'll stay to get our affairs settled and so I can transfer my stuff over to the base. I'll talk to John, Guy and Carol, explain what's going on to them before we go. Don't mess up my room while I'm gone."

"Why would anyone want to go in there?" M'gann asked innocently, anything but innocent.

"Ha, ha," Kyle said, solidly unamused. "You're hilarious."

Bruce cleared his throat. Again. Donna gave him a concerned look.

"Are you sick, Batman?" she asked. Bruce glared at her.

"No. Now that things with Jordan are settled, we have one more matter to settle before we adjourn for this meeting." His eyes flashed. "What are we supposed to tell the rest of the superhero community?"

Superman frowned. "Are you advocating we tell everyone, Batman?"

"No, Superman, he has a point," Jason rebutted, agreeing with his father. "The information is already known to all the villains who worked with Savage. Most of them are in prison, but not all of them, and even then prison isn't going stop the information from spreading. Especially after the recent incident with the League of Assassins." Dick winced at the reminder. "We need to get ahead of that, control the narrative so it doesn't cause any dissent in the future. We'll have to make a formal announcement of some sort."

"Oracle can handle that, she has a direct line to most superheroes in the world," Dick volunteered.

"And what of the civilians? Or, at least the civilian authorities?" Bruce questioned, eyes narrowed. "We can't very well tell them."

Jason shrugged. "Then don't."

"We have to tell them _something_. We can't hide the fact that we have two Justice Leagues running around."

"Then give them the truth. We're time travelers."

Bruce opened his mouth, before he stopped, and blinked. "Oh. I see." He didn't say anything more than that.

"Well, if that's it—oh, wait. The camp."

Wally blinked. "That's still happening, right?"

"It is," Donna replied. "He's just wondering if we should make an announcement about the camp with the general one about our time travel. After all, we have more teachers. That means we can handle more students."

Several heroes looked leery about that, but nods from all three members of the original Trinity staid any protests. That final word said, the meeting finally adjourned. Not everything that needed to be said was, but for now — it was enough.

* * *

As it turned out, M'gann didn't need to stay with any of them. J'onn had an apartment on Earth for his own civilian identity and had offered to share it with her. She had quickly agreed and happily flew off with him after saying her goodbyes. Kyle offered the same to Hal, knowing the other man didn't have a place to stay, and the two planned to meet with the rest of the Lanterns some time during the week at Guy's bar. Alan, of course, was invited to come as a Lantern himself.

Wallace sped off with the rest of the speedsters to Central City, no doubt to soothe the nerves of the worried Iris West. Kaldur gave them a salute before following Arthur, Garth, and Mera to Atlantis to do the same with his own parents. The Kryptonians were some of the last to leave — they had to borrow one of Courtney's spare costumes to give Kara a sufficient disguise and a quick flying lesson, along with repeated assurances from Kon in Kryptonese that he would use his telekinesis to stabilize her and keep her in the air in case something happened. That had prompted a quick demonstration of said telekinesis using a nearby car. Once Kara was satisfied, they left, with promises from Kon to return to Catskills the following day once Kara was settled.

As the teams dispersed, either to their own homes or to their own bases, the Bats and Donna boarded the Bat-Plane back to the Manor and the Cave. Nightwing, needing to to go work the following day, went with them as Gotham would be a shorter drive to Bludhaven then taking his own transportation from the Tower. He could always have someone send his stuff from there over later anyway.

When they arrived at the Manor, Alfred, Stephanie, and Damian were all waiting for them. Upon seeing the second Batman and a silver and blue Wonder Woman, they stared.

"…Master Jason?" Alfred blurted out in surprise, losing his composure for once.

Jason silently nodded.

Stephanie blinked, and gave a more critical look to the Wonder Woman. "Then you're—"

"Donna, yes," Donna finished for her, smiling slightly. "We're currently stuck in our adult forms for the time being. Thank Vandal Savage for that."

The three exchanged apprehensive looks.

"Well, better change, and then some sleep," Jason suddenly announced, breaking the awkward tension, "Even with Kyle's Blue Lantern powers, I feel exhausted." He lifted his helmet off, undoing the latches on the way, revealing the top of his head and face, the rest covered by a black half-mask. He tapped something on the side, and the mask retracted itself, revealing his entire face. Everyone who had been present during the confrontation with Ra's al Ghul noted that this face looked a touch older than the version of Jason they saw during that incident, but only just so.

He tapped the helmet, and it reduced and flattened out into a simple mask. Then, Jason tapped the buckle of his utility belt, and everyone stared in wonder as the entire suit — including the cape! — retracted and weaved away into the utility belt, revealing an under-outfit of a black, short-sleeved shirt and black cargo pants and boots. Jason unhooked the utility belt and threw it over his shoulder, while hanging the mask from a string on the side of his leg.

Upon feeling Donna's amused and slightly appreciative gaze and everyone else's disbelieving ones, he shrugged. "Nanoweave," Jason explained, rubbing the back of his head.

"Now that's just not _fair_ ," Dick whined. There were murmurs of agreement, and even Bruce looked slightly annoyed.

"I'd give you the schematics to make your own, but the materials needed won't be widely available for at leasat five years," Jason said, setting the mask and the belt down on a nearby table. "So, until then, the old-fashioned way will have to do."

"Sorry, everyone," Donna added, back in her own civilian outfit — a long-sleeved black shirt and a pair of jeans and sneakers. Tim took one look at her and did a double take.

"How—?"

"I just spin to change," Donna answered, shrugging. "That's nothing new, Diana does the same thing."

Dick whined even louder.

* * *

After everyone was properly showered and changed — Jason was able to borrow some of Bruce's clothes, with Alfred planning another quick shopping trip to get him a full wardrobe for his current size; Donna's clothing, thankfully, still fit, though her outfits were a touch tighter than usual — they ascended up to the Manor for food and sleep. Dinner was quickly warmed and prepared, and the family settled around the dining table with practiced ease. As they ate, Jason informed Damian and Stephanie about the decision for the time travelers, including him, to temporarily move to Catskills base.

Predictably, Damian didn't take it well.

"But why?" The boy demanded, setting down his fork forcefully (but not so much to damage the table, lest he invite Alfred's wrath). "We have plenty have space here to support you and your compatriots!"

"Oh, I know," Jason groused out, eyes far and brow twitching. Next to him, Donna stifled a chuckle.

Damian failed to notice. "Then why not stay here with us? Surely they all know how to care for themselves, so Alfred's workload should not increase too exponentially—"

"If only that were true, Master Damian," Alfred muttered as he carted in dessert.

"—and resources are never a concern. Would it not be better to let all of you stay here?"

Jason sighed, and then gave his youngest brother a flat look. "Damian, the last time I had the entire council stay over at Wayne Manor for an extended period of time, they nearly blew up the entire building."

Everyone stared at him.

"Donna—?" Dick started.

"He's telling the truth," Donna confirmed, plating herself a slice of chocolate cake. "There was an incident with Wallace messing with the Manor's in-built defenses, Kon got involved, and then there was an energy shortage so they brought in Kaldur, and, well…" She shrugged.

"Worst five hours of my life," Jason proclaimed, downing an entire glass of club soda. "I am not risking my home like that ever again. At least Catskills is built to handle super-powered shenanigans."

"Especially after you, Wallace, and Kon are done with it," Donna noted, giving her boyfriend a grin and a nudge. "Already thinking of additions, aren't you?"

"Oh, like you wouldn't believe!" Jason said, grinning back. "Classrooms, training rooms, locker rooms — we can't have the original back, but we can get really close. While there's probably going to be a catch to all this, I've got to admit having access to my old database is certainly useful. All the files and schematics are in there, for a lot of stuff I _really_ missed." He gave a happy sigh. "It's going to be a long week, but it'll be worth it."

" _Really_ worth it," Donna agreed, as her smile became slightly sensual.

Jason noticed, and returned the look with a longing expression of his own. A cleared throat and a glare from Bruce stopped them and left them sheepish, but their hands lingered near each other nonetheless, even as Dick looked a little sick from the exchange. It seems he wasn't used to the idea of his best friend and his younger brother being a couple quite yet.

Dinner continued in general peace after that, and soon after everyone was filing up the stairs for sleep. With most of Gotham's rogues still waiting in transit for transfer to Arkham Asylum, the city was quiet, and it had been silently agreed upon to take the night off for once. Well wishes for good sleep were exchanged as everyone filed into their rooms one by one. Jason was one of the last few to turn in, a light in his room as he tried to arrange the sheets of his bed to handle his suddenly larger body.

Before he could join the land of dreams, however, there was a knock on his door. With a frown, he went ahead and opened it, adopting an exasperated look when he saw who it was.

"Bruce, seriously?" He asked, groaning. "Can't this wait until tomorrow?"

Bruce ignored his complaints. "The one named Kaldur'ahm. He's a killer."

Jason gave him an unimpressed look. "Bruce, most of your teammates are killers. All of my teammates are killers. _I'm_ a killer."

"That's different," Bruce insisted. "I know you're only going to kill someone if it's an absolute last resort. Same with the rest of the Justice League. But him…"

His son observed him for a long moment, before sighing. He quietly gestured his father inside, shutting the door close quietly so no one would be awoken by the sound. Once they were alone, Jason turned around and crossed his arms. "Is this because of Black Manta?"

Bruce nodded.

Jason sighed. "You already know his reasons, don't you?"

"I did. I understand, but the comment he made at the meeting today regarding possible methods to deal with Light...well, it concerned me."

Another sigh. "The thing about Kaldur," Jason started, looking tired, "is that you have to remember that he is a _soldier_. And I don't mean a soldier like you or me or even Diana or Donna. I mean a real, professional soldier of a standing army of an advanced civilization and a world power." He hesitated for a moment, before continuing to speak.

"Like Donna, there was a gap between Kaldur's career as Aqualad and his career as Aquaman, hence why he's the third Aquaman instead of the second. But unlike Donna, who retreated to Themyscira to heal, Kaldur gave up the Aqualad mantle for professional reasons. He was needed elsewhere."

"Where?" Bruce prompted.

"Atlantis," Jason answered, a tinge of sadness to his expression. "Bruce… that attack by Black Manta? The one that killed Arthur and Kaldur's parents? That happened only a year or so after you died. Queen Atlanna, Arthur's second child and successor, she was only three when her father died and she was crowned queen. Until she reached her majority, Mera acted as her regent. But because of that, she couldn't be there for Atlanna all the time. So Kaldur gave up being a superhero to be Atlanna's bodyguard instead, and then her first tutor in combat."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "That's quite a lot of sacrifice and responsibility for one so young."

Jason gave a shrug in response. "Kaldur was in a dark place after the attack. Atlanna was one of the few bright spots. He loved her, was loyal to her above all others. There wasn't anything in the world he wouldn't have done for her." He gave a meaningful look to his father. " _Anything_."

"He killed to protect her," Bruce quickly deduced.

"As he should have," Jason added, wrinkling his nose at the face Bruce made. "Oh, don't give me that look, B. He wasn't a superhero anymore. He was a soldier, a bodyguard for a child queen for whom there was no shortage of enemies willing to kill or kidnap her for their own purposes. If he wasn't willing to do anything and everything to protect her, then he would've never gotten the job."

"Then how did he end up Aquaman?"

Now Jason _really_ seemed to be hesitating. He spent a long moment gathering his thoughts. Finally, he said, "Garth quit. Dolphin and him love each other, but his superhero career has always been a point of contention between them. Eventually, to save his marriage, he retired." Jason rubbed one of his arms. "It wasn't that hard of a choice in the end. With Donna on Themyscira and the rest of his closest friends dead, the people nearest and dearest to his heart were in Atlantis. He had other friends of course, and so accepted the post of being Atlantis' ambassador to the UN so he could visit them, but for the most part he was done being a superhero. Kaldur, as the only other Aqualad and as Atlantis' greatest warrior, was the natural choice for his successor. He was reluctant, but when Atlanna made it an order, he accepted the mantle as her wish."

Bruce lifted his chin. "But that's not the only reason why, is it?"

"No. But I'm not going to tell you what it is, because I'm not going to betray my friend's privacy like that. I'm already betraying enough as it is, telling you about this." Jason placed a hand on his hip, shifting away to reveal his bedroom door. "Now, Bruce, if I've satisfied all your questions, please leave. I've got a long day tomorrow and I need every second of sleep I can get."

A short stare-off ensued, but Bruce conceded quickly enough and headed towards the door. Before he left, however, he turned his head back to glance at Jason and ask one last question. "You said that every single member of your team has killed before. Out of all you, who is the most likely to kill someone again?"

Jason snorted. "You already know the answer to that."

"Humor me."

The son flared his nostrils, exhaling his answer with a hint of irritation. "It's Kaldur. He has the least amount of reservations when it comes to taking a life. But make no mistake, Bruce, every single member of the council is willing to take that plunge if they feel there is no choice. Don't think he's unique in that regard."

Bruce observed his son for a moment, taking in his tired appearance, before giving a short nod. "I won't."

* * *

_Atlantis_ , Kaldur thought as he trailed after his king, queen, and friend, _is beautiful_.

Then again, Atlantis was always beautiful. Through its greatest triumphs and its greatest disasters, Atlantis had an aged dignity to it that remained unmatched by any location upon the surface world. Technological advancement crossed with primordial architecture, combined with the unique aquatic aesthetics that only a city beneath the sea could hope to imagine, gave Atlantis a certain gorgeousness that Kaldur had never managed to find anywhere else. He had not been home often after during his tenure as Aquaman (though not by choice), so every time he saw the 'Lost City', as it was known, he was always left in momentary awe.

As they swam through the streets and avoided the curious stares of the denizens, Kaldur observed the differences between the Atlantis of this time and the Atlantis he had come to know by the end of his life. This Atlantis still had the general structure and influences of the Old City, the Atlantis that had sunk beneath the oceans thousands upon thousands of years ago. Their advances in technology were woven into these structures, rather than eclipsing and replacing them entirely.

It was a deep contrast to the Atlantis he knew, which was colorful and ever-expanding, resembling something from the popular sci-films of the surface world. But of course — the Old City had been partially destroyed during Black Manta's fateful attack all those years ago, and in the aftermath, Atlantis had to rebuild, to grow and adapt. In some ways, it had resembled the maturing of its new child queen, the young girl that Kaldur had guarded with his life for ten years. The year Atlantis had finally completed all the repairs from that horrible day was the year Queen Atlanna had sent him away. She was barely thirteen by that point, but she had a wisdom that exceeded those four or five times her age. She hadn't needed him anymore, at least not in the way he had been serving her since the day her father died at the hands of his own. It brought him as much pride as as it did sorrow.

They arrived to the palace at a brisk pace, ignoring the looks from courtiers and advisers alike. Kaldur followed his liege to the innermost chambers, the private rooms of the royal family. They lingered in front of room, and the doors were opened. Kaldur swam inside, and felt his breath shorten and leave him.

The golden shock of his mother's hair was as vibrant here as it was in his memories, along with her tan skin and her pale green eyes, the same as his own. His father, his _true_ father, was there and not that glorified sperm donor that had deigned to call himself by that title to his face. Kaldur felt a pang of rage at the thought, and internally cursed the fact that his king had not allowed him to strike Black Manta down. He could understand his king's desire to 'preserve his soul' and what not, especially when surrounded by other heroes, but Kaldur had lived this life long enough to know he was never going to regret killing Manta again. Quite the contrary.

"Kaldur'ahm?" Sha'lain'a gasped as she and her husband stepped forward to take a closer look at their son.

Kaldur smiled at them both, his expression both joyful and tearful. "Mother." He nodded towards Sha'lain'a. "Father." He did the same to Calvin. Then, he pulled them both into a group hug. "I've missed you so."

After some hesitation, the parents hugged their son just as fiercely. They stayed like that for a bit, with the rest of the room's occupants watching them. After Kaldur let them go, letting his hands pat both of them on the shoulders and linger, he glanced back at his companions. His eyebrows raised when he saw who had joined them: Dolphin, and Garth and hers child, Cerdian.

"How can this be?" His mother's words cut through his thoughts, and Kaldur smiled at her and his father gently.

"It is a long story. I shall tell you all of it as soon as we are home, I promise." He gave their shoulders a squeeze before stepping away, and approaching Garth and Dolphin.

Garth seemed to come alive upon seeing his approach. "Kaldur, I'd like you to meet my wife—"

"—Dolphin," Kaldur finished, finally coming to a stop. He eyed the small baby in her arms. "And your son, Cerdian. If I may?" He held out hands.

The two Atlanteans exchanged a look, before Dolphin reluctantly handed her son over. Kaldur took the child into his arms with practiced care, his expression morphing into a deeply fond look. "It is odd seeing him so young," he commented, voice soft. As he spoke, he felt a memory wash over him.

* * *

_Kaldur hummed as he listened to the storm attacked against the exterior of the lighthouse. Combined with the waves beating against the cliff, it made for a raucous sight. A solid disparity to the interior, with warmth of the fireplace pervading throughout the insides, a comfort as he prepared tonight's dinner: a fresh-baked pizza, courtesy of a recipe Jason had shared with him after the last council meeting._

_Pizza was one of the first things he had eaten when he had first set foot on the surface world, a delicacy introduced to him by his King, all those fateful years ago. He had it sparingly during his time as his Queen's bodyguard, due to Atlanna rarely venturing outside of Atlantis. As a child monarch, her mother and regent, the Dowager Queen Mera, handled most of the diplomatic trips, especially those that required venturing to the surface world._

_The timer he was using to time the bake let out a chime and Kaldur, clad in a warm blue sweater and flannel pants, crouched down to observe the inside of the appliance. Pleased with the appearance of the pie, he stood up, turned off the timer, and grabbed a pair of oven mitts. He opened the oven, turning off the heat, and taking out the pizza using the wooden pizza paddle he kept hanging on the side of his kitchen._

_Just as he was sliding the pizza onto its tray, he heard the doorbell ring and frowned. He left the pizza to cool and took off the mitts, setting them next to the pizza as he departed from the kitchen for the front door._

_Kaldur went to open it, and blinked when he saw who it was on the other side._

_"Can I come in?" Cerdian asked. A young man of twenty years old, Cerdian had many of his mother's facial features, a certain softness that contrasted his father's stronger, sharper features. Other than that, however, he was a dead ringer for Garth, with his dark hair and violet eyes. Were it not for his navy blue armor, a contrast to his father's scarlet and then orange, one could even confuse them as the same person._

_Slowly, the current Aquaman nodded and stepped aside, shutting the door closed as soon as Cerdian was inside to avoid anymore wind and rain from getting in. He watched as the younger man used his magic to warm and dry himself up, preventing him from tracking water throughout Kaldur's home._

_"The kitchen," Kaldur said after Cerdian finished fixing himself up. "I've just made some pizza. We can share."_

* * *

_"Why are you here, Cerdian?" Kaldur asked as they finished the last of the pizza. "Not that I am not happy to see you, but you do not leave Atlantis often. At least, not without your parents." Garth, after all, was now Atlantis' primary ambassador to the surface world. His family had residences both in Atlantis and in New York, so they could be near the headquarters for the United Nations._

_Cerdian stared down at his glass of club soda. Kaldur had refused to give him alcohol, citing that as far as the surface world was concerned, he was not of age, and correctly predicting that they would near clear heads for the following discussion. Cerdian had grudgingly accepted his reasoning, even as he dreaded what was to come._

_"The Queen is turning eighteen soon," Cerdian started hesitantly._

_Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I know. I've been given a grace period to attend the celebration." He wouldn't be allowed to return to Atlantis otherwise._

_"There has been…_ talks _."_

_"Talks?"_

_Cerdian swallowed. "Talks. About…about suitors."_

_Kaldur stilled. "Ah." He kept his voice deliberately neutral, trying not to betray his thoughts._

_"Considering the Queen's…heritage, it's been agreed upon that she'll marry another Atlantean." Because as beloved as her father was, Arthur had still been a half-breed. Even now, there were grumbles about how the Queen had more Xebelian blood than Atlantean. "However, if she doesn't make a choice within a year of her eighteenth birthday, Dowager Queen Mera has considered either arranging a marriage or hosting an engagement challenge."_

_"How surprising. I never thought the Dowager Queen would ever consider such a thing."_

_Cerdian shrugged, still looking uncomfortable. "Normally, she wouldn't, but you know how fickle the Atlantean people can be. Things have been calm for now, but the last thing the Dowager Queen wants is to have her family repeatedly enthroned and dethroned like the times of yore."_

_"Even so, to have her daughter married so young?"_

_"The engagement can last as long as the Queen wishes is it to," Cerdian amended. "But she must be engaged all the same. The Atlantean people need the reassurance and the stability of a royal engagement, with the hopeful promise of a royal marriage. To symbolize the fact that these dark times are truly over, that we are moving on to a new era."_

_Kaldur slowly nodded along with Cerdian's speech, and when he finished, hummed. "It sounds like you're trying to sell me on the idea, Cerdian. Why is that?"_

_The young Atlantean said nothing._

_Abruptly, the older man stood up, carrying the pizza tray, crumbs and all, to the sink. He measuredly wiped off the crumbs into a nearby trashcan before placing the tray into the sink and running some of water on it. It would make it easier to wash when he had to do the dishes later on._

_"I watched over our Queen for ten years," Kaldur began as he returned to the table. "From the day her father died to the day she chose to banish me from her presence. I guarded her, taught her, trained her, comforted her, cared for her. Through all the early milestones of her life and reign, I was by her side. And while I was there, I learned much." His pale green met violet, and he tilted his head. "I am not a fool, Cerdian. How long have you loved our Queen?"_

_Cerdian's mouth fell slightly, and he looked away. "I don't—"_

_"I said_ _**not** _ _to take me for a fool," Kaldur cut him off before he could finish, sounding firm. "How long?" he asked again, softly this time._

_"…I think I always have, Kaldur."_

_Kaldur gave a single nod. "I thought as much."_

_"But what am I to do, Kaldur!" Cerdian wailed, flopping over the table and clutching his head in distress. "She is my best friend, yes, but she's also_ _ **the Queen**_ _!_ My _Queen! And I'm…I'm just a normal Atlantean. Not from any great lineage, just a boy lucky enough to be her friend." That was all he had ever really been, in the end._

_"You are_ not _a normal Atlantean, Cerdian," Kaldur pointed out. "You are an accomplished warrior, scholar, and sorcerer. You are the son of Atlantis' top diplomat, the son of my predecessor, an Aquaman. All those other men might have noble lineages dating back thousands of years, but what have they accomplished that you have not already done a thousand times over? Do any of their lines directly descend from a hero like yours does? I highly doubt it."_

_"Pretty words, Kaldur, but will the Dowager Queen agree?"_

_Kaldur sighed. "The Dowager Queen might have grown colder than you remember her to be, but she still loves her daughter. She will not force the Queen into a relationship she does not want; she wouldn't even have the power to after the Queen's eighteenth birthday. Above all else, she would want Queen Atlanna to be happy and safe, with a man she trusts." He gave Cerdian a meaningful look. "And if there's any man in this world that would have her trust, that would have_ my _trust, it is you."_

_Cerdian looked stunned._

_"You forget, Cerdian. It is not just our Queen that the Dowager Queen and I watched grow up. It was you as well. And while our Queen may no longer need me to shield her from the dangers of this world, she still needs someone to lean on while she reigns and rules. The crown is far too heavy for one person to bear alone." Kaldur stood up, and walked over to the younger man, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You came here seeking reassurances. I give you both that and my support, and if you so wish it, my blessing. But Cerdian, you should forget about everyone else's approval. There's only one approval that truly matters in the end, and it's hers."_

_Kaldur leaned down, and met Cerdian's eyes once more._

_"What I'm trying to say is this, Cerdian. If you love her, you need to tell her. And you need to let her figure out if she feels the same. All of your worries, all of your fears — they are all second to that, in the end."_

* * *

_And what a fine King Consort you grew up to be._ Kaldur thought, as he smiled down at Cerdian's sleeping face. _Greater than anyone could have ever dreamed of. Our Queen chose well, when she chose you._

After a moment of rocking, he handed the baby back to his apprehensive parents. From the corner of his eyes, he saw his parents staring in confusion, and his King and Queen watching him carefully, perhaps wonder what his interest was in Cerdian. If they only knew.

"Care for him well, both of you," he said instead, "Do that, and you'll be amazed by the man he'll grow up to be."

They all looked perplexed, now. No matter. That was all he had to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A look into Kaldur's character. Unplanned, much needed. Wallace is going to come much later (still trying to iron out some of the details of his past), but it will come.
> 
> Happy New Year's, everyone! And thank God for that, this year has been pretty horrible if I'm going to be honest. But here's a gift for you all to celebrate the start of a new (and hopefully better) year. And, if you want to gift me something, please update the TV Tropes page. I'm sure there's plenty to add.
> 
> Next Chapter: The Era 2 JL settle in at Catskills.


	25. Catskills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Era 2 Justice League arrive to their Catskills Base.

Wallace West yawned as he reached into the industrial-sized fridge and took out a carton of milk. Like all members of the West-Allen family, Aunt Iris had a truly massive amount of storage to handle all the groceries that would be needed to feed a speedster. While she was no longer living _with_ a speedster, plenty enough visited for her to keep both the fridge and the pantry fully stocked. This had been an oddly prescient decision, considering that her youngest nephew was now the latest in the family to join the family business.

He could still remember the look of shock on his aunt's face when he had sped over to their home as an adult — as the _Flash_. She had spent what felt like an eternity constantly hugging him and searching his face for the boy that had been stolen from her by a brainwashed Hal Jordan. According to her, she had been largely accepting of Wally and Donna's warnings, but seeing it in person had been no less shocking.

After doing a quick recap of what had gone on after his kidnapping, Wallace had crashed in the guest bedroom for a much needed sleep. His own bed was now unable to handle the weight and size of his new body, so Aunt Iris had set him up in the guest room for the night instead. She had taken the news that he was temporarily moving out unhappily but conceded, recognizing that having an adult speedster in the place of her eleven year old nephew was asking for all sorts of trouble that she wasn't quite prepared to deal with just yet. Of course, that was only after repeated assurances that he would try to visit as often as possible. Not particularly difficult, considering his speed.

Once he had three cartons of milk in his arms, he made his way to the dining room. Due to his…situation, it was decided there would be a family breakfast so everyone in the family could see what he looked like now for themselves. Truthfully, that wasn't saying much — the only other member of the family that hadn't been at the battle besides Aunt Iris and Linda was Max Mercury. As he wasn't one for questions, Wallace could content himself with the fact that he didn't have to answer any too soon. While he knew the others had charged him with explaining Flashpoint (the dicks), he was not looking forward to talking about that. Even now the subject was painful, especially concerning how it had to do with his own existence.

If Uncle Barry came back in this universe too, Wallace was totally going to punch him in the face.

* * *

Expecting to walk into a typically raucous Flash Family meal, Wallace was little off-put to realize how quiet the dining room was. A quick darting of the eyes around the room, and he soon saw the reason why.

An extremely guilty-looking Hal Jordan had come to visit the West-Allen home, and was facing off with unamused and slightly hostile Iris West-Allen. Off in the corner was Wallace's teammate Kyle, who was currently spectating with the rest of Wallace's family. While the speedsters all looked awkward and apprehensive, with Wally in particular looking ready to intervene, Kyle was completely casual, observing his nails instead.

Wallace cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention. He held up the cartons he had been carrying. "Got milk?"

Kyle snorted. "That joke got old decades ago."

"For _you_ , maybe," Wallace easily retorted, setting the cartons down on the table.

Kyle moved to the side, approaching Wallace, and crossed his arms. "Not surprised to see me?"

Wallace gave a half-shrug and thumbed Hal. "Moment I saw him, I knew you'd be here. Leaving him on his own in his current state of mind is just asking for trouble."

"True." The Lantern hummed. "What about you? Did Iris take you moving out of the homestead seven years early well?"

The speedster gave another shrug. "As well as could be expected," he answered noncommittally.

"You know we can all hear you, right?" Iris suddenly snapped back at them, breaking her stare-off with Hal.

"We know," both men sang in unison.

Iris huffed at them, before turning back to glare at Hal.

Hal quivered under her hard stare. "Iris…I'm sorry. Honestly, I am. I didn't mean to kidnap him, I was just—"

"—possessed, Hal, I know. Wally and Wallace both explained it to me." The woman crossed her arms. "But you can understand why I'm not happy to see you right now, right?"

Her late husband's best friend glumly nodded.

Iris sighed. "I understand you weren't in control of yourself. But…I just can't look at you right now, Hal. That boy you stole wasn't just my nephew, he was my _son_. My youngest son. You can't even begin to imagine how terrifying it was to have him taken from me like that and being completely helpless to stop it. I'm sure I'll be able to forgive you one day, but for now — please leave."

Hal swallowed, but gave another nod, and turned to leave. Kyle shared a meaningful look with Wallace before following his predecessor out of the room. The moment the front door clicked closed, some of the tension eased out of the room, and one-by-one the members of the family seated themselves at the table. Breakfast was breakfast, after all, and nobody loved breakfast more than a speedster.

* * *

After breakfast was over and goodbyes were made to everyone, Wallace sped over to the Catskills Base that had been designated as his temporary home. Catskills, along with Mount Justice, had served as primary education centers for the JLA Training System alongside the two Titans Towers and the Hall of Justice. Unlike the latter three, the two bases of Young Justice had been left to mothball after the team's disbandment in the wake of Tim Drake's untimely death, the memories too painful and raw, especially after the subsequent deaths of Bart Allen and Cassie Sandsmark.

However, they had been dusted off with Conner's blessing upon the advent of the training system. Each base was an ideal location for training, both for their illustrious history and because they were fully equipped to handle the excesses of a large number of preteens and teenagers. While technically, there was no upper age limit for any level of the training system (just minimum ones), that didn't change the fact that the majority of the students that were entering at the lowest level were going to be well below drinking age.

As part of the training system included missions with each level's respective team (Young Justice, Teen Titans, and finally, Titans), each base needed to handle the needs of each team. The Young Justice team was always going to comprise of the youngest members, and their base, Mount Justice, reflected that, as the original base of the original Young Justice.

The Catskills Base was different. It was formerly a hotel resort, for one, so it was unnaturally large even compared to the likes of the Titans Towers. Few bases, among them the famous JLA Watchtower, dwarfed it size. This made it ideal for training retreats, and indeed that was its primary utility. Boot camps and training simulations and all sorts of events took place at Catskills, including the famed Seven Lessons that served as the final test before entry into Senior Grade — the camp that was personally run by the Council themselves.

In short, Wallace was _very_ familiar with Catskills. He didn't need any coordinates to figure out his way there, especially not with his speed, and after a quick few pitstops to pick up some tools, he skidded to a stop, arriving with a flourish.

When he got there, he realized that he wasn't the first one present. Jason, Donna, and Kaldur were already there, talking quietly in front of the gate. In a far-off clearing was the Bat-Plane; Jason had probably borrowed it to get here now that the JLA's teleporters were temporarily out of commission.

"Hey guys!" he shouted, approaching them with bags in hand.

The conversation ceased as all three glanced at him, Kaldur giving him a nod. "Wallace," he greeted back. "Tools?"

"Yup!" Wallace glanced around. "Where's everyone else?"

"M'gann will be arriving soon, but Kon and Kyle aren't going to show up until later," Donna explained. "Kon is dropping off Kara at Themyscira today with Clark. He wants to make sure she's settling in well before coming here."

"And Kyle? I just saw him. Well, him and Hal." Wallace coughed. "Aunt Iris wasn't particularly happy to see him."

"Not surprising," Donna muttered. She had been the one kidnapped with Wallace, after all. A little louder, she said, "Kyle and Hal are visiting Guy's bar today, meeting John, Guy, and Carol there with Alan Scott. Kyle wants them read them in before handing back their rings and and heading off to space. He's going to drop by after that's over to choose his room and drop off his stuff."

"And leave us to do all the work," Jason noted sourly. His girlfriend elbowed him on the side. Hard.

"One of the perks of being one of the few Lanterns in the universe, I suppose!"

Miss Martian descended from the ground in full superhero attire. Once she touched the ground, however, her form began to shift. She changed into a tall, pale-skinned and freckled human woman with short red hair and brown eyes. Much like how her Uncle J'onn had the dark-skinned John Jones, this was her human disguise, Megan Morse.

M'gann (or Megan, she supposed) smiled. "Uncle J'onn is helping out with the rebuilding of the Watchtower, so here I am." She opened her arms wide.

Jason gave another nod. "Good. That's mean we're all here." He turned to one of the pillars of the gate, revealing the biometrics screen. After a quick scan of his eye, palm, and voice, the gates snapped open to allow them inside.

* * *

"When we realized there was a possibility that all of you would be joining the Kon, Donna and I," Jason started as they walked up the stairs of the base and down one of its two main residential wings, "We designed this wing with all seven of us in mind. Of course, the whole 'adult' thing changes thing considerably, so we're probably going to have to refurnish and refurbish some of the rooms, but for the most part space isn't going to be an issue." He turned around and gestured to the hallway. "Go ahead and pick. First come, first serve."

Donna then jabbed her thumb towards the room at the end of the hallway. "Except for that room. That room's taken."

Wallace, Kaldur, and M'gann all stared at her. "That's yours and Jason's room, isn't it?" Kaldur finally said, sounding unsurprised.

Jason rubbed the back of his head. Donna let out an innocent whistle.

"Please tell me these rooms are soundproofed," Wallace groaned.

M'gann knocked one of the walls. "Sounds like it. Lucky us."

"Great! That means this wasn't a total mistake."

* * *

"No!" Guy suddenly declared, crossing his arms back and forth in a repeated motion. "I'm not falling for this shit."

John frowned. Carol tilted her head. Hal cringed. Kyle raised an eyebrow. Alan simply rubbed the bridge of his nose, and muttered an exasperated, "Gardner…"

"You're trying to tell me that this guy," Guy jabbed his thumb towards Kyle, who looked a little amused and slightly irritated, "is a time traveler from the future."

"Actually, I'm from an alternate universe that this one is a clone of that's further along the timeline—"

"—and that he's this… _Uber_ Lantern—"

"—White Lantern—"

"—and that he needs us to go up in space and reestablish the Corps with _Jordan_ of all people—"

"—well, am I supposed to police the stars by myself—?"

"—the same Jordan that destroyed the Corps in the first place?"

"—he was possessed!"

"Look kid," Guy said, standing up to loom over Kyle. "This is a crazy-ass tale you've concocted up, but if you think I'm gonna work with _Jordan_ after what he did, you've got another thing—"

Suddenly, a pair of white tendrils wrapped Guy's form. Before the man could react, they snapped taut, restraining him and slamming him back down into his chair. Guy tried to struggle, but it proved fruitless, and he ceased when he saw Kyle stand up in turn, a dark expression on his face.

"I am _not_ a kid," Kyle retorted calmly, his eyes glowing an ominous white. "And _you_ are as annoying as ever, Guy. You'd think after all the years I spent as your partner, I'd remember. I guess it really has been a long time."

Guy stared up at him in awe and a hint of fear as he shied away from the younger(?) — they were really going have to figure that out — man. The others looked similarly apprehensive, and Alan was sweating. Only Hal didn't look afraid, though there was obvious hesitation in his form. Both of them were no doubt remembering the battle with Kyle a couple days ago. Clearly, they weren't looking forward to a possible repeat performance.

Slowly, Kyle exhaled a deep breath. His eyes returned to their normal green, and he slowly released Guy from his bonds. He sat back down, dusting himself off, and then his ring glowed green. The pair of Green Lantern Kings that Kyle had duplicated from Hal's own floated up from his pocket and were placed on the table: one in front of John, another in front of Guy.

"The universe needs the Green Lantern Corps," Kyle started, interlacing his hands together, his white ring glinting under the lights. "There are events in the future that one Lantern, even one as powerful as me, cannot handle on their own. Hal and I and whichever of the two of you that end up joining us are going to take care of one of them: the Central Battery that Sinestro would've used to start his own Corps. I've already destroyed his ring and imprisoned him, but that Battery and the Qwardians are the main problem. All Sinestro needs is them to begin his plans again."

"Sinestro was going to start his own Corps!?" John exclaimed, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

Kyle nodded. "He might still, if we don't destroy that Battery and deal with the Qwardians. We can handle the former well enough, but if we don't revive the Corps then the Qwardians will just build a new one for when Sinestro inevitably breaks out."

"Okay, this is interesting and all, but what am I doing here?" Carol asked, breaking into the conversation. "I'm not Star Sapphire anymore. I don't even _have_ the Star Sapphire anymore—"

Before she could finish, Kyle flashed his ring again, his eyes glowing violet. Carol's own eyes mirrored his, and a familiar gem appeared on her forehead before floating away from her and into Kyle's hand. He grasped it into his fist, but the violet glow did not cease. If anything, it grew brighter, flaring out before fading away.

"Sinestro isn't the only one trying to create his own Corps, Carol," Kyle said as he opened his hand to reveal a violet-colored ring, and dropped into the shocked woman's hands. "The Zamarons are trying to create one as well. The Star Sapphire Corps. You're involved, whether you like it or not — as a former host for the Predator and as the most well-known of the Star Sapphires, they're going to seek you out as a potential Lantern for their Corps. With us, and with this ring, you'll be able to at least keep your own mind."

Hal blinked. "The Predator? Why would the Zamarons care about the Predator? Wasn't that just some—" His stopped speaking, his eyes widening in realization.

"What is it, Hal?" John asked, noticing his expression.

His old partner didn't answer, instead turning to Kyle. "The Predator…it's like Parallax, isn't it?" Gasps of shock followed that statement. Carol looked on in wide-eyed horror.

Solemnly, Kyle nodded once more, and his ring glowed white. Two orbs popped into existence: the one containing Parallax, and another one, containing a green, fish-like creature. "This is Parallax, the cosmic embodiment of fear," he explained for those that didn't already know, lifting the one with the yellow creature. He then lifted the other one. "And _this_ is Ion — the cosmic embodiment of willpower. It used to live in the Green Lantern Corps' Central Battery before it was destroyed. It later sealed itself inside my ring, sleeping and trying to regain its strength, and would've eventually taken me on as a host when it was done." He nodded towards the green ring that now sat on Hal's finger. "I extracted it from the ring when I duplicated it. When we reestablish the Corps, we will need it to reignite the Central Battery."

The White Lantern flicked his hand, and the two orbs disappeared back into his personal pocket dimension. His ring then glowed white again, and a colorful display of the emotional spectrum appeared with each color, each bearing an image of a creature. The other Lanterns recognized Parallax and Ion on sight, floating in their respective colors, but the others were unfamiliar to them.

"The Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum is comprised of seven colors, and each of these colors get their energy from a cosmic entity that embodies that color's emotion — they are the first entities in the universe to feel that specific emotion when the universe was born from the Source all those billions of years ago."

"From left to right, we have the Butcher, the Entity of Anger; Ophidian, the Entity of Avarice; Parallax, the Entity of Fear; Ion, the Entity of Will; Adara, the Entity of Hope; Proselyte, the Entity of Compassion; and finally, the Predator," Kyle glanced at Carol, "the Entity of Love."

Suddenly, the display changed, the seven colors merging into one: white. And at the center of this white image was a new entity, one bearing traits from each of the previous seven. "Together, these seven colors make up the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum, and thus the color white — the color of life, embodied by the Life Entity that currently slumbers in the Earth's core."

"Kyle," Alan started slowly, "Are you trying to tell us that there's going to be a Corps for each and every single one of these colors?"

"Yes. In fact, discounting the Green Lantern Corps, two such organizations already exist," Kyle casually revealed, much to everyone's increasing shock. "The first is…well, it isn't really an organization, but a person. Agent Orange, real name Larfleeze, the current wielder of the Orange Light of Avarice."

"One Lantern isn't really a Corps, Rayner," John pointed out.

Kyle glanced at Hal and Alan, who both looked uncomfortable. "It is in his case. The Orange Light of Avarice — well, it induces an increasing amount of greed in those who wield it, and the light is stronger the less users there are. There used to be more Orange Lanterns, but Larfleeze killed them all. Copies of their souls now exist in his ring to do his bidding as his own personal constructs. If I hazard to guess, he's probably the most powerful lantern in the universe after myself."

There were looks of horror from everyone at that. "You're kidding," Guy accused him

Kyle shook his head. "I'm not. Normally, it's fine just leaving Larfleeze alone though. One of the downsides about the Orange Light is that it increases your greed the longer you wield it and the more of it you wield. Larfleeze has been the sole wielder of the Orange Light for millions of years. As a result, he's…" The White Lantern cringed.

"Off his rocker?" Hal offered.

"That doesn't even _begin_ to cover it, but yes. He's nuts, which decreases his effectiveness in a fight. But if he thinks we're trying to take his battery away from him, he's going to be hostile. We'll have to be careful in our dealings with him." Kyle rubbed his thumb over his ring. "The other Corps is the Indigo Tribe, led by a woman named Iroque, or Indigo-1. They were created by Abin Sur."

That startled Hal; clearly, he had not expected such a close connection with one of these organizations. "Abin Sur created them? Why?"

"The Prophecy of Blackest Night," his successor replied, looking grim.

Alan sat up. "You mentioned that when you first came back. Whatever it is, it spooked Ganthet."

John frowned again. "It's also mentioned in the Oath. I take it's not just for fancy wordplay, is it?"

"No," Kyle confirmed, still grim, "it isn't." The image of the Life entity morphed away, turning into something else. A tall and emaciated figure, wielding a scythe replaced it, one that looked unnaturally frightening. "This is Nekron. The Entity of Death."

"You mean Krona's benefactor?" Hal asked, staring at the figure in apprehension.

"More than that. If life is all emotion, death is the absence of it. When the universe first began, as far as he was aware, there was only Nekron. Then the Life Entity came into being, and life began to populate the universe." Kyle's eyes flashed darkly. "Nekron abhors life, sees it as an aberration. Two or so years from now, he intends to use William Hand, better known as Black Hand, as his harbinger and bring about the Blackest Night, creating a zombie apocalypse that will plague the entire universe. He has his own Central Battery, his own rings, all located in Sector 666, and they will spread across the stars, possessing the corpses of the dead and allowing them to rise and to plague the living. Nowhere will be untouched."

Now everyone was pale, their skin almost chalk white. Hal swallowed. "And the Guardians _knew_ about this?"

"Not exactly," Kyle corrected him. "The original prophecy, written in the Book of Oa, was extremely vague. They knew Blackest Night was coming, they just didn't know what it was until it happened. Now that I'm here, however, we can prepare." His gaze swept across them all. "Nekron's goal is to kill the Life Entity. If he does that, then _all_ of life will die, and we will all be slaves to his will. That cannot happen. But we cannot hope to combat him alone, even with the might of all of this world's heroes standing behind us. We _need_ to reestablish the Corps, everyone. The fate of the entire universe depends on it."

"Well said, Kyle Rayner."

Ganthet swirled into view, green light flaring out from behind him. The Lanterns stared at him in shock, except for Kyle, who simply smiled. "Ganthet," he greeted the Guardian warmly. "How long have you been watching?"

"Since you came to this time — or universe, I suppose," Ganthet answered, floating towards the front of the table. "I am sorry I did not intervene when Savage had you kidnapped, but I did not want to risk him placing me under his thrall as well."

Kyle winced. "Yes, that would've been…well, disastrous. Do you know the source of his power?" He asked curiously.

Ganthet shook his head. "Alas, that is a mystery even to me. Nonetheless, while Savage unquestionably the greatest threat, we can do nothing about him for now." His eyes sharpened. "The threats you speak of, however, are a different matter. For years, us Guardians have agonized over the mystery of Blackest Night, wondering over what this great threat was. And now that you've revealed it to us, including me, the Last of the Guardians, I cannot help but find it troubling." He settled his weighty gaze on the remaining Lanterns, eyes firm. "Kyle Rayner is correct. We must reform the Green Lantern Corps."

"There are other things we need to do as well, but we can discuss that later," Kyle continued for him, standing up. "Right now, I need to know: are you in? Or are you out?"

With that ultimatum finally spoken, all four men and one woman exchanged silent looks, before retreating to their own thoughts. After several minutes of quiet, someone finally spoke.

"I already gave you my answer yesterday," Hal told him, eyes blazing green. "It hasn't changed."

John sighed and smiled, picking up his ring and sliding it onto his finger. A perfect fit. "And if that's the case, then I better come along so you don't get yourself killed."

Guy snorted, smirking as he picked up his ring too. "Oh, why the hell not? I'm in!"

Carol fiddled with her own ring, frowning. "I can't go out into space with you. I've got a company to run." Then, she smiled. "But if you're in a pinch, don't be afraid to call."

"Same," Alan agreed. "I've got too much going with the JSA right now, but when you really need me, I'll be there."

Kyle grinned. "Good. Now, we need to decide who's going to stay planet-side to help guard Earth with the JLA…"

* * *

_I can see why they call this place Paradise Island._

"Kara? Kara!"

Kara Zor-El glanced to her right. Her two cousins, in their Kryptonian armor ("Humans consider them costumes," Kon-El had told them) were standing there, preparing to leave. However, they wanted to check in on her one last time before they flew off.

"Remember, if you need anything, just ask Queen Hippolyta, or Diana if she's here," Kon told her seriously. "We'll try to visit as often as we can, but if you truly need us, just call out our names. We'll be there in a jiffy."

Kara tilted her head. "'Jiffy'?"

"It's a human expression, Kara," Kal-El explained. He then pulled into her short hug. "It's only for a couple of months, okay? Just listen to your teachers, learn, and it'll be over before you know it. Then you can come home with us and decide what you want to do then."

"I still do not understand why I have to stay here to learn instead of with you," she looked back at gaggles of Amazons and the classical buildings of Themyscira. This place was beautiful, in a different kind of way from Krypton, but it was not home. Her home was gone, and her new one — the one she was supposed to make with the remaining family she had left — was taken from her before she had time to even settle in.

_Learn…_ Kal-El had told her to learn. He didn't seem to realize that she already was. She had nothing else to do now _but_ learn.

She still remembered when she had first awoken after the Krypton's destruction, barely clothed and in the arms of some strange bearded man, surrounded by a bunch of people in colorful costumes. So scared and confused, and then she was thrown by the man towards one of the people there, before falling into Kon-El's arms. Of course, Kara hadn't known that at the time — just that the man that had caught her bore her house's crest and had an uncanny resemblance to her Uncle Jor-El.

Then there was another man that look liked Uncle Jor-El, introducing himself as Kara's baby cousin Kal-El. That's when she knew something was deeply wrong. They had given her a short explanation: she was on Earth, Krypton had been destroyed, she had been stuck in suspended animation, so on and so forth, but Kara was too confused and lost at the time to really comprehend it, let alone process it. It hadn't been until they had taken her to the 'Brownstone' as they called it that she had been receptive to their words.

Krypton was gone. It had been destroyed decades ago. Kara had expected the former, it was one of her last memories, but the latter had stricken her heart with a deep amount of shock and disbelief. Kal and Kon (as he had introduced himself) explained that her pod had been struck by debris upon the planet's explosion and then sealed within in it, passing through the Phantom Zone and placing her in stasis. They knew she would arrive eventually, but she had been taken by her pod by a man named 'Savage' — the man whose arms she had awoken in, who had thrown her to the unfamiliar crowd earlier that day.

Of course, once Kara had time to process those words, she had asked how they had _known_ she was coming and why they didn't come for her sooner. That's when she had gotten another shock: Kon-El was both Kal-El's half-human clone and a time traveler. "In my timeline," he had said, "you would've arrived in a small meteorite that would've crashed in Gotham Bay, where Kal and our friend Batman would've found you. I had the date memorized and everything, so I could be there to help you acclimate myself." The reason they hadn't searched for her is because they didn't know where the meteorite that held her pod was, and didn't have the time to find out.

But Savage, the man responsible for Kon-El's time travel, had changed things by bringing her here earlier. Along with transforming Kon back into his adult body ("I was a teenager like you before all this."), he had scuttled all of her cousins' plans. They had both planned to clear their schedules around her original arrival date so they could train her and help her settle into the family. The recent upheaval and the ensuing chaos of Savage's actions, however, had made that impossible; there was simply too much going on that they couldn't spare as much time for her as they had wished.

Kara didn't quite understand that either, until she learned about her powers. She was _strong_ now. She could fly and shoot heat beams from her eyes and dozens of other little things. Even her brain had been enhanced; Kara had been considered a genius on Krypton, but on Earth? She was beyond brilliance. It had only been a day but she already had a rudimentary understanding of English, the primary language of the country where her cousins resided. Kon claimed that within a couple weeks, she'd be completely fluent.

This was the result of the yellow sun that this world, this strange world, orbited around. Their bodies processed this sunlight differently from the natives, and it enhanced their bodies exponentially, giving them these amazing abilities. This, Kara learned, is why she needed training. "If we can't control these powers, Kara, then we are dangerous. We could accidentally hurt someone," Kal told her. "Kon and I, we had wanted to teach you ourselves, but we simply don't have the time. It'll take at least week for you to be able to hold something like an apple without accidentally crushing it."

More than that, they wanted her to learn how to fight, how to defend herself. _That_ , more than anything else, she did not understand at all. They had to explain to her that they were 'superheroes', and that they used their powers to protect Earth, but because of that they had enemies that would target her. Dangerous enemies, they had said. But she didn't get it. With her powers, it was unlikely any of their enemies could touch her. Wouldn't control be enough?

But she didn't protest. She didn't know how. They believed the danger to be real, Kon had even claimed to live through it and knew that her power alone would not be enough. So she had gone along with it, knowing that they would at least visit once a week. At least they had allowed her to meet the family before she left, allowed her to meet Mr. and Mrs. Kent, the parents that had taken Kal in. Kal's wife, Lois Lane — and his son, Jonathan Samuel Kent, or Jon as they called him. He didn't have a Kryptonian name. Kal confessed that they were going to wait until he was older and allowed him to choose one for himself if he wished.

Kara had especially been delighted to meet him, and it seemed he had been the same. The seven year old had been elated to have another cousin (Kara wasn't quite ready to be called an 'aunt' yet) and was saddened she wasn't staying with them for the time being. Kal and Kon, at least, had promised to bring him to visit her once they got permission from Queen Hippolyta. That was something to look forward to.

After a night and a breakfast at the Kent Farm, Kal and Kon had flown her to a nearby private airfield where their friend Diana was waiting for them. Themyscira, she had learned, was magically protected by the gods of Diana's people. While her cousins could locate it (albeit with some difficulty), it would be better form to go there in Diana's plane. Diana was the Princess of the island, and her people weren't fond of men. Kon and Kal arriving unexpectedly, even with Kara in tow, would've not gone well.

And now she was here, on Themyscira. It had been beautiful at first, the people kind, but now that her cousins were departing, it had lost its shine. Kara didn't want them to go.

She didn't want to be alone.

"Kara," Kon started, gently brushing Kal aside to pull her into his arms, "I know this isn't ideal. But trust me when I say that this is for the best. You'll be safe here, until you can protect yourself. I know you want to come with us, but—" He halted for a moment, then sighed. "But, you are not the only person who needs us. Far from it. I'm sorry it has to be this way."

Kara looked down, her eyes watering slightly. Kon gently lifted her chin, and smiled sadly at her.

"We will visit this weekend, I promise," he told her firmly. "Nothing in the world will keep us away."

She smiled tearfully at that, and hugged him back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First chapter of the year!
> 
> Our first look at Kara. It'll be a while, but she will become a major character later on. Poor Kon. Forced to leave his cousin on Themyscira because he knows that the best place to get her training before Darkseid comes for her.
> 
> And of course, the Lanterns. Kyle's going off in space and doing space things because if he stayed Earthside then there would be far less of a story. But that's what you get when you're one of the most powerful characters in the setting. Plus, his responsibilities are far more vast than just Earth, so…
> 
> Next Chapter: The Era 2 JL settle in on Catskills and get a visit.


	26. The Titans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donna faces her ghosts.
> 
> The Titans visit.

_Click!_

The moment the door opened and Terry Long saw who it was on the other side, he scowled. "I have—"

"The suit has been dismissed on grounds of false claims. The restraining order was never properly issued," Donna answered before he could finish. "Please let me in, Terry."

Not expecting to hear the word 'please' like that, and perhaps remembering that his ex-wife was a superhero, Terry complied. Donna walked measuredly into the house, observing the surroundings. Not a lot of pictures, she noted, and of those that were present, only one had her. Of course — Terry would want to minimize the influence she had on his family, considering the way their relationship and marriage had ended.

"Why are you here, Donna?" Terry (and Rhea, it was weird to have her ex-husband share a first name with her lover's son) demanded, hands on his hips. "If you're thinking about taking Robert away, let me make something clear — I don't care about how many fancy pants lawyers you get with help from your rich friends like Grayson. I'll fight tooth and nail to make sure my son doesn't become another casualty of your thrill-seeking."

Donna stared at him for a long moment, before sighing. "I'm not here to take Robert away, I'm just asking for visitation rights. That's it. Is that fair?"

Terry felt his nostrils flare. "I said—"

"I retired from the Titans, Terry," Donna continued, as if he hadn't started talking at all. "Or semi-retired, to be more accurate. They can call me in case of a major emergency, but I'm no longer an active member of the team. I've even moved out of Titans Tower."

Her ex-husband's jaw dropped, a picture Donna allowed herself to enjoy for a moment. "I—but—why?"

She had been waiting for that question, and had prepared her response in the coming weeks as she gathered her courage. It was quickly decided early on that Terry Long couldn't be trusted with the truth, not with how his relationship with Donna had gone, but a kernel of it would do in this case. If Terry did find out somehow, Donna would come clean, but for now… "My priorities changed. My son needs me in his life, more than the world needs me to be a superhero — a full-time one, at least. So I decided to leave the Titans. Unfortunately, something else is going on right now that requires my attention, so I won't be able to visit as often as I would like, but once it is settled I intend to fully devote myself to Robert."

"And you couldn't do that during our marriage?" Terry suddenly blurted out, the anger causing him to lose his cool.

"No, I couldn't," Donna replied smoothly. "Because I was young, Terry. Too young. That's why we didn't work out. You were ready to settle down, and I wasn't. I'm sorry for that, especially now that I _am_ ready. Unfortunately, it's not going to be with you."

And now there was a flare of jealousy with that anger. "You've already found someone else?"

"Yes," Donna answered, refusing to say anymore.

Terry swallowed. "And are you going to bring him to meet Robert?"

"No, not yet. It's too soon for that." Donna hesitated. "But…one day, yes." It was not like she was going to marry anyone else. At this point in her life, Donna couldn't think about being with anyone but Jason. She had waited far too long to be reunited with him, one way or the other.

"…Fine, but only because keeping you away from him would just hurt him. He still asks for you." Terry glared at her. "But if your superheroics put him in any danger—"

Donna scoffed, cutting him off. "Terry, even if I had remained retired, he would've been in danger. You knew full well what you were getting into when you married me. I won't deny I was selfish for going back to this life, but don't go acting like I tricked you into this. You and I both know I didn't and the courts would agree." That final word said, she handed him something. Terry took it with some reluctance, recognizing it to be some kind of device with a button on it.

"What is this?" he asked.

"An emergency beacon," Donna told him, turning to leave. "If you're in any trouble of any kind, push the button and it will summon the nearest available superhero to your location and to your aid." She glanced back at him one last time, and Terry was startled to see the fire in her eyes. Donna had always been a fierce woman, tempered by her sweetness and compassion, but this was something else. Never before had Terry felt so small under her gaze. "Let me make something very clear to you, Terry Long. If you use your grudge against me as an excuse to refuse help from another hero and put our son in danger, then all bets are off — I _will_ have Robert's custody transferred over to me, _permanently_. I will not have your pride put my son in danger. Understand?"

Slowly, Terry nodded.

"Good."

With that final word said, she left.

(She wasn't ready to face her son yet.)

* * *

It had been quite a hassle to get Catskills to their liking, while still retaining it's original purpose as a training facility. At least until they realize they could tunnel into the mountain and expand underground. There were worries about structural integrity — the last thing they needed was the base to collapse in on itself or cause some kind of landslide outside — but then Jason did an extensive land survey that was then double-checked by every geological expert they had on hand (which was not quite as many as they thought there would be, but a lot all the same). They could tunnel all they liked, as long as they were careful about it.

After that, it was a simple matter of using the combined might and intelligence of a speedster, a Kryptonian, an Amazon, a Martian, a Xebelian, a Lantern (because despite Jason's claims, Kyle did _not_ leave them holding the bag), and a really smart guy with loads and _loads_ of money. Debates were made about what rooms were needed and what rooms needed to be expanded, but construction started soon enough. The most difficult part, as it would turn out, was actually gathering the materials, seeing as this was supposed to be a secret base. After a quick debate, it was decided that M'gann would be the one to gather everything as she had the ability to conceal her true appearance and make herself invisible.

On top of further constructing the base, other necessities needed to be purchased: new wardrobes, toiletries, furniture, sheets, etc. Jason handled the funding for that, of course — the joys of being rich with a limitless credit card. That, at least, didn't require any subterfuge on their end. Just some large vans and boxes and the nearest shopping center. After some discussion, it was decided that mornings would be spent shopping and the rest of the day and evening spent building. That had been a nice division that allowed them to build a solid schedule around.

With that set, the week flew by, and by the time Friday rolled around they were just about done, just in time for the children to arrive that Friday evening…

…and in time for the Titans to visit that morning.

* * *

Dick Grayson hummed as he waited in front of the refurbished mountain base that his brother and best friend and their 'team' (and Dick was _not_ bitter, no sirree) had made as their base/classroom/whatever. Behind him, the rest of the Titans were milling around, waiting for the doors to open. Kori, Toni, and Jesse were conversing quietly by themselves, as were Garth, Wally and Grant. Victor was marveling at the cloaking — he had detected it immediately upon arrival but his scanners hadn't been able to pierce through the shielding and reveal the building beneath. It made him wonder about what other tech the time travelers had added to their base.

And as for the famed Nightwing himself, he felt…conflicted. Things had changed so rapidly in the past couple of weeks he felt his head spinning at it all. It had been bad enough when Jason came home with two more kids that he told them were going to be their new siblings and a wild (if true) tale about how he traveled back in time from a future where their father and all three of his brothers, including Dick, had died in the line of duty, while Jason had been a reformed supervillain who had become Batman that died from lung cancer at age 50. That had been…a lot. And while Dick had missed his little brother and did his best to visit Gotham more now that he was back from the dead and he had three more siblings besides Tim to keep an eye out for, in some ways he was grateful he had his own place in Bludhaven. It kept from thinking about all the… _implications_ about what this meant, about what Jason's own memories held.

(Dick wasn't blind. He saw how his little wing looked at him sometimes. Something told him that even with Kori and his family by his side, his last years hadn't been kind.)

And it had worked. Until the same thing had happened to Donna as well.

It had come unexpectedly. People had still been reeling about Kon, and it had induced a lot of awkwardness between Jason and Tim those first couple of days. But it had passed and Dick had just figured that it was just going to be like when Jason had first come back. There was going to be an adjustment period, Kon was going to part everything he knew and learned as another mentor to his team and help out his own family with their issues like Jason had with his. Not a big deal, relatively speaking.

Then it happened to Dick's best friend too, and suddenly it was a _very_ big deal. Two time travelers showing up so soon, one after the other, had been bad enough, but Donna…he had seen that haunted look in Jason's eyes, and now it was in hers too. She could barely look at them, at _him_. Donna had been his closest friend, his rock, for _years._ To see her like that, to have her look at him as if the very sight of him caused her pain, hurt in ways Dick didn't know could hurt. She had also looked happy, of course, but…

Dick had listened to her own little explanation about the future in a haze. He had barely taken note of his own death, he already knew the details, but Wally and Roy's and even Grant's had stung. Jason had alluded to them beforehand, but hearing the confirmation was devastating. And the fact that they were coming so soon, that Lian would've been an orphan before she even turned _six_ (because God knows Cheshire had no right to call herself Lian's mother, not after everything she'd done)…God. No wonder Jason had been so reluctant to part information about the future.

He knew, intellectually and emotionally, that the future had not been kind. Jason's words that first night home still echoed in his mind even now. But now it was really sinking in. The darkness of what was to come hadn't just touched his brother — it had touched everyone. Including his best friend.

In light of all that, Dick supposed he shouldn't have been surprised about Donna's decision to leave the team. She had her son to devote herself to, and decades of pain and loss she wanted to leave behind. It was the same reason why Jason had yet to fully devote himself to being a vigilante again; he went back into the game because all of his family was in the game, but if it weren't for that, Dick was certain he'd hang it all up and leave it all behind. Donna wasn't out completely, as seen with her mentoring Cassie, but when it came down to it, as much she loved the Titans, she loved her son more. They weren't the priority anymore.

And, well, there was whatever she had going on with Jason. Dick _still_ didn't know what to think about that. Roy was still moody about it, even if he had yet to confess what exactly Donna had told him. She'd probably tried to let him down gently, but, well, it was hard to get over the fact that one of your childhood best friends and the woman you were close to falling in love with was leaving you for the younger brother of your best friend. Even factoring in the extraordinary circumstances they were all in.

Maybe this visit could help them process that.

(Or maybe it would just make everything worse. Dick realized that, at this point, just about anything was possible.)

* * *

"Dick."

Dick took the hand offered to him, squinting slightly. "…Kaldur, right?"

Kaldur, dressed in a simple blue shirt and jeans, nodded. He let go, and then offered it again to Garth, smiling. "Garth."

Greetings and introductions were exchanged — it appeared that Kaldur only knew a few of them personally. From what Dick could see, he had met all but Toni and Grant (which, if Dick remembered correctly, was because the former retired and the latter died before Kaldur's superhero career had even started), and was the most familiar with Garth, Kori, and Victor. Garth was not surprising, but Dick couldn't help but wonder how he knew Kori and Victor so well. Maybe he was a member of the Teen Titans during his time as Aqualad?

"Please," Kaldur started, breaking Dick out of his thoughts, "come in."

The cloaking shimmered as they were guided through the gates. The Titans stared up at the base, slightly impressed. Jason's team seemed to have redone the outside as well as the inside, repainting the outside of the building to rid itself of the derelict gray. With the whites, yellows, and soft golds, it made for an elegant, dignified feel which somehow complimented the the forested backdrop the Appalachians made. It was certainly different from the technological marvel that was the JLA Watchtower and the sleekly modern Titans Tower. Even the classical, old-fashioned Brownstone of the JSA wasn't quite the same.

"We're almost done with reconstruction," Kaldur explained as they approached the front of the building, "We just need to finish the Holographic Simulator Room underground."

"You're building an HSR?" Victor asked, astonished. Not even the Tower had that — they didn't have the power to handle it, mostly because Dick didn't want the team to be beholden to Bruce. As far as anyone knew, the only HSR in existence was located on the Watchtower.

"We are," Kaldur confirmed. "Jason has the schematics for the clean energy generators that WE will develop in about a decade or so. He's already sent a copy of them over to Lucius, but the originals are still with us. Along with him, Wallace and Kon are already familiar with the technology so it was a simple matter to build them in order to power the building, including the HSR."

"Along with keeping you off the grid completely," Wally noted.

Kaldur hummed in agreement as he placed his hand on a scanner next to the front door. The grand oak doors snapped open immediately, allowing them inside. With a gesture from Kaldur, the Titans were welcomed inside.

"Everyone should be in the kitchen right now. Jason and Donna are cooking breakfast, and I think Kon is setting the table. Wallace is doing a quick check on the construction site underground — he'll be willing to let you work with him after breakfast is over," Kaldur added when he saw the look of glee on Victor's face, "and M'gann should be in the kitchen with Jason and Donna, probably trying to sneak in some chocos before breakfast."

"What about Kyle?" Wally asked, noticing the missing name.

"Not here," Kaldur stated bluntly, before elaborating. "He left with the Lanterns yesterday and went off to space. He's eager to restart the Corps as soon as possible."

"No!"

Everyone's head turned towards the direction of the kitchen. The third Aquaman sighed.

* * *

"No, M'gann, no! No chocos!"

M'gann stared defiantly at her friend as she slowly lifted a choco from her personal box and put in her mouth. Jason snatched the box from her hand before she could begin to chew, glaring then. He then blinked as he felt the box begin to slide out of his grip and looked back to see it beginning to float towards the ceiling. He tried to grab it again, only for it to dodge him and continue to float higher and higher until not even he could reach it.

Jason turned back to glare at his Martian friend harder. By that point, M'gann had started chewing, a small smirk on her lips.

"You," he began, pointing at her, "are horrible."

His friend responded by pointedly swallowing the cookie, then tipping over the box and catching another one in her mouth. Jason threw his hands in the air in defeat.

"Fine! Go ahead and ruin your appetite for all I care!" He huffed, turning back to the stove. Donna, who had been watching the scene was also keeping an eye on the food, laughed.

Kon, having just finished setting the table and was now sitting next to M'gann at the kitchen counter, snorted. "You're such a dad, Jay."

Jason groaned. "Don't even start. Please."

_Poor Jay. Don't miss your old nickname?_

"Forgive me for being concerned about your lifestyle choices!"

"You are forgiven," Kaldur said solemnly as he entered the kitchen with the Titans in tow. Both Jason and Donna immediately lit up.

"Dick!" The second Batman laughed as he pulled his older brother into a hug. Dick happily returned it, before letting go to hug Donna as well.

"How's the new house?" Dick asked after they separated.

The couple exchanged a look. "It's been good," Donna finally answered. "Things have been busy lately, and Kyle just ditched us—"

"That deadbeat layabout," Jason grumbled. M'gann used her powers to float her box of chocos back down and smack him on the arm with it.

_He did his share. You know how much he has on his plate._ She chided him, before floating the box over and reaching in to stuff her mouth with another cookie.

"Would it have killed him to wait until we were done with the HSR, though?"

"—but it's been good," Donna continued, ignoring the sideshow. "We've got all the essentials, the kitchen is fully stocked to handle everyone's appetites, we've updated the security system and we've got all the lesson plans prepped. We even managed to almost completely refurbish and expanded the base. Other than the HSR, we're just about ready for the kids when they arrive tonight."

"That's…good." At least, as far as Dick could tell. He felt someone tap his shoulder, and upon seeing Kori's expectant look, he cringed slightly. "Right, right."

He moved to the side to allow the rest of his team to file into the kitchen and greet their former teammate, and turned to observe the rest of the room. Jason was arguing with a silent M'gann (who Dick assumed was using telepathy), who was still eating chocos, a box of them floating above both their heads. Next to them, Kon and Kaldur were watching them with amused looks on their faces, especially when Jason tried to snatch the box again and was left fuming when M'gann once again floated it out of reach. It was a surreal sight.

_Whoosh!_

"Wow! Now this is a party!"

"Wallace?" Wally blinked as he turned around to his baby cousin leaning against the entrance of the kitchen, wiping out a warm, wet cloth over his face.

"Hey Wally," Wallace cheerfully greeted his kitchen. "Just got back from the HSR. Is breakfast ready?" He directed the question towards his teammates, who shrugged and glanced at Jason.

Jason broke off his seemingly one-sided argument with M'gann and sighed. "It's always food with you people. What am I, your personal chef?"

"Yes," all his teammates bluntly responded, no remorse.

"I hate you all."

* * *

With everyone present and the greetings over, the group transferred over to the dining room for breakfast. Jason refused the help of the speedsters in carrying the food ("It's nothing against you, I've just had bad experiences with Wallace," he explained, jabbing his thumb towards their sheepish cousin.) and instead had Kon and M'gann float everything in with their telekinesis. Plates and utensils were passed around, and soon enough everyone is digging in.

"This is _good_ , Donna," Roy complimented as he took a bite of his waffle. "You really outdid yourself here."

Donna shook her head, smiling. "Oh, it wasn't me. I helped, sure, but it's Jason who did most of the work. These are his recipes after all."

Roy scowled upon hearing that, while Grant blinked and glanced at Jason, who was sitting next to Donna, seasoning his eggs. "Seriously?"

Jason shrugged. "Ran a diner for a couple years before I had to commit to being Batman. I had it run by an employee afterwards, before handing it off to my eldest when she turned eighteen and told me she had no intentions of going to college," he explained. Carrie had always enjoyed cooking the most out of all his children, after all.

"Jason has very firm opinions about self-care, and especially about cooking," Kon added, smirking. "All his students are required to learn as part of their training."

"He forced us to learn too," Kaldur casually stated, buttering a piece of toast.

"Because you were going to make me your kitchen slave otherwise!" Jason complained.

"You're our kitchen slave anyway," Kon retorted, before downing some milk.

Over at the other side of the table, Wally and Jesse watched, stunned, as Wallace wolfed down three stacks of pancakes in record time. "And I thought _I_ was bad," Wally commented, looking down at his own full plate.

"Wallace, I know this might sound hypocritical," Jesse started, trying not to turn green, "but don't you think you should…slow down?"

"Don't bother," M'gann told her, using her telekinesis on her knife to spread a dollop of jelly on her English muffin while she mixed her oatmeal with honey with her spoon. "We've been trying to make him slow down for years. Unfortunately, your dear cousin has managed to master the art of stuffing one's face at superspeed, so there's really no point anymore."

Wallace swallowed down the last of his pancakes and scowled at her. "I'm a growing speedster! Even with my powers, there's only so much time in the day for me to eat!"

"Wallace, you're forty-eight," M'gann deadpanned. "You are many things, but growing isn't one of them."

"Says you!"

Wally frowned. "Wait, you're forty-eight?" That was more than twice Wally's age! Hell, he was pretty sure Wallace was older than _Aunt Iris_ now.

Wallace shrugged. "That's how old I was when I died," he replied, filling his plate with another stack of pancakes.

Jesse glanced at M'gann. "What about the rest of you?" she asked, curious.

"I honestly have no clue," M'gann replied, sounding apologetic. "Neither Uncle J'onn nor I are exactly aware of how long ago it was when Mars fell. The years kind of blurred together."

"I'm sixty," Kaldur answered, when Jesse turned to glance at him.

"Forty-one," Kon chimed in.

"Sixty-five," Donna added serenely.

"I was fifty when I first came back, though I'm pretty sure that I passed my birthday somewhere in there," Jason commented, cutting his eggs with his fork. "So I'm fifty-one."

"What about Kyle?" Dick asked.

"He's sixty too," Donna answered after a moment, doing some quick calculations in her head. "He's two years older than Jason and died eight years after him."

"You do realize this means that all of you are older than the current members of the JLA, right?" Roy pointed out.

"Yeah. So?"

The Titans exchanged looks. "And this does not… disturb you?" Kori asked, speaking cautiously.

All of the future heroes shrugged. "We've lived pretty wild lives," Wallace replied, reminiscing, "I won't deny that this probably the weirdest thing that's ever happened to us, but honestly, you get used to it."

"Just wait," Jason told them, "Give it a couple more years, and you'll see what we mean."

The Titans didn't find that statement particularly comforting.

* * *

"So what are you guys planning on doing with Young Justice and the others this weekend?" Dick asked his brother as Kon used his telekinesis to clean the table, carrying off leftover to the fridge and dumping crumbs and other small bits in the trash before placing the dishes in the dishwasher. Jason usually preferred to hand wash his dishes, but considering he was now living with six other adults (one of whom was a speedster) and was liable to any number of guests, the dishwasher was the only way to go.

They were sitting together in the living room by themselves, talking. Wallace and the others were giving everyone else a tour of the building, showing them what changes they made and everything. Dick had been planning to go with them, but decided not to after Jason asked him to stay behind so they could talk in private. Jason apparently had something to ask him.

"Well, I'm not teaching this weekend, just chaperoning," Jason said as he directed Kon where to put each plate of leftovers. "Neither is Kon — he's going to Themyscira with Clark to visit Kara tomorrow. Donna, however, gets the kids all to herself for Saturday as punishment for their little stunt with the rescue mission."

Dick winced, remembering how harsh Donna could be during training. "That's mean, Jay. Though I can't say they don't deserve it. What about the rest of the days you have them, though? You've got them through Wednesday, right?"

"Yup. They get to start enjoying their spring break on Thursday. As for the rest of the days, Wallace and M'gann get them on Sunday, then Kaldur gets them Monday and half of Tuesday. Then they get the rest of Tuesday off, and as for Wednesday, I was meaning to talk to you about that."

His older blinked, and pointed to himself. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. See, we're thinking of doing a field trip for Wednesday and we're planning on splitting the kids up. Kon is going to ask Clark tomorrow if he can take the powered kids, including Stargirl, to Metropolis. I was hoping I could take Tim, Cass, and Cissie to Bludhaven to spend a night in your city, with you as a guide. I understand if you say no, and I'm sure we can ask Green Arrow instead, but…" Jason shrugged.

Dick crossed his arms. "Sure. I don't mind. But why not Gotham?"

Jason gave him a deadpan look. "Other than the fact that our dad is the most territorial superhero on the planet, Gotham wouldn't fit for the purpose of this field trip. It's to teach them what it's like to be an individual hero guarding their own city. Gotham, with its disproportionate amount of insane, gimmicky rogues, is not representative of what a normal, non-powered superhero usually has to deal with."

"I don't know, Jay. Anything I can teach them, you probably could on your own."

Jason sighed. "Dick, you taught me a lot, but you didn't teach me everything you knew. And besides, I'm not asking you to teach them specific fighting and investigation techniques, just general lifestyle decisions and experiences." He looked his brother dead in the eye. "I need you to show them why a city like Bludhaven needs a hero like Nightwing, and not, say, Superman."

Dick flushed at the implicit compliment, but nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I can do that." He inhaled slightly, and adopted a more calculating look. "In fact, I could probably use the backup. I'm planning a big drug bust on one of Blockbuster's major suppliers that night. Been casing the place for the last week, and Wednesday is the best night to do it."

"How have things been going with Blockbuster by the way anyway?" Jason asked curiously.

"Well. All the info you gave me has been really helpful, even if some of it was incomplete. I've managed to take down half of his operations thus far, and with these new files you've gifted me, I should be able to take down the rest before Christmas."

"That's good," Jason commented, looking pleased. "That means we won't have a repeat of last Christmas either."

"Oh, c'mon Jay. You're still mad about that?" Dick sounded exasperated.

"Yes. I expected so much better from you Dickie."

Dick rolled his eyes. "Right. Anyway, back to the education thing — I know Donna is in charge of combat and physical conditioning, you're in charge of tactics and strategy and Kon has empathy, but what about the others? What do they specialize in?"

Jason leaned against the wall. "Wallace is in charge of general knowledge. Not just science or history, but also the general specifics of the superhero life: team dynamics, significant conflicts, general trends in supervillains, that kind of thing. M'gann, meanwhile, is in charge of teamwork — helping them get to know each other, trust each other, develop their team dynamics, etc."

"And I guess whatever Kaldur specializes in is why you all gave him the most time with the kids out of everyone?"

Jason nodded. "Kaldur specializes in environment adaptation. Learning how to survive in any environment and use it, no matter what kind it is, to your advantage — no matter how disadvantageous it might be to you personally." Jason shrugged. "As a native of Atlantis, it's one of the most important skills he's developed over the years."

Dick couldn't help but agree, thinking about how Garth had struggled to contribute during the early years of the Titans. He was fine when they were near bodies of water, but when they weren't? There was a reason he had sought out the most diverse training out of all of them. Magic, after all, was a gift few had and even fewer had the patience to master. "What about Kyle?"

"Emotional control," Jason answered, looking slightly apprehensive. "That's actually one of the reasons why we're still debating how much he's going to teach them. On top of being busy reforming the Corps, some of Kyle's teaching methods wouldn't be conductive to their development as teenagers. While it's important for them to learn how to handle their emotions in the heat of the battle, the last thing we want to do is stunt their emotional growth." He gave a meaningful look to Dick that his brother returned. _We don't want them to be like Bruce._

"Well," Dick finally said, clasping an appreciative hand on his younger brother's shoulder, "whatever you decide, I'm sure it'll be good for Tim and his friends. I'm glad you're doing something like this, Jay. God knows how much I wished we had this kind of training when I was a sidekick."

Jason's face pinched at that, an indescribable emotion flashing through his eyes before it was gone. He gave his brother a well-practiced smile. "Thanks, Dickie. I'm glad you approve."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more world building, for when the kids get there next chapter. You'll get to see how Wallace, M'gann, and Kaldur teach the chapter after, if I'm correct. And of course, Jason and Dick bonding!
> 
> Next chapter: The Titans' visit continue.


	27. Sparring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sparring practice for everyone!

"So, Donna," Toni started hesitantly, sliding on the last strap of her sports bra before picking up her exercise top. "How have things been going with…Jason?" It was still awkward, thinking about that. Toni doubted it would ever be stop being awkward.

They were currently underground, near Catskills' large, state-of-the-art gym. While the HSR was still in repair, the gym had long since been completed, including separate locker rooms and showers for the men and women. As the children wouldn't be arriving until the evening, it was suggested they fill the rest of the time with some sparring practice. The suggestion was quickly accepted, which led to here.

Not everyone was joining in. The HSR, after all, still needed to be finished. Wallace and Kon had elected to deal with that, and Victor, still enchanted with the idea of working on the room, went with them. Wally and Jesse also stuck by, both in hopes of helping finishing the room earlier and to keep an eye on Wallace (apparently, Iris was not content letting her nephew live on his own without occasionally being checked on, even though said nephew was now older than her). M'gann had been unable to stay as well, citing a desire to visit her Uncle J'onn now that they were almost done with the base.

That still left quite a number of heroes for sparring practice, though, so the groups separated to change. The locker rooms were fully stocked with general exercise clothes of all sizes ("Jason ordered a bulk shipment," Donna had said) and fresh, clean towels and soap for showers afterward ("Kaldur handles the washing. It's easy with his powers."). Everyone was instructed to change and meet in the gym, in the designated sparring area: a flat area of panels, surrounded by barriers, standard ones, mounted with see-through glass.

Donna, either blind or deliberately oblivious to the tension, smiled beatifically. "It's going great," she said with a happy sigh. "He's always been attentive, you know? Even when he was busy with his kids, he never failed to at least check in on me. And while I love those children as almost much as he does, I can't deny I enjoy having more of his attention now that we're back together."

Kori frowned. "You two broke up?"

The second Wonder Woman stilled for a moment. "We didn't want to," she said, sounding sad. " _I_ didn't want to. But Jason…when he found out about the lung cancer, it freaked him out. He knew he wasn't going to survive, and he wasn't willing to take any of the more…esoteric remedies in curing it. Not after the Pit. He was going to try and fight it the traditional way, but…" Donna sighed again, this time sadly. "He knew it was going to hurt everyone. For me, he wanted it to hurt a little less. So he gave me some cheap lie and broke up with me. I knew it was a lie, I called him out on it, but he refused to say and we didn't talk for months and then…He wanted me to be able to move on, after." _But I didn't,_ is what went unsaid. Everyone still heard it.

"And you forgave him for that?" Toni asked, in slight disbelief.

Donna shrugged, looking amused and sad at the same time. "He's a Wayne, Toni. Wayne men are stupid. I should know."

"Agreed," Kori added wistfully, reflecting upon her own relationship with Dick.

The Amazon clapped her hands. "Now, c'mon. Let's head over to the gym — you're going to love what we did with the sparring area."

* * *

The gym was made of several smaller, but no less sizable rooms, each with their own function. There was an indoor swimming pool for Kaldur, a weight room for Kon, a track room for Wallace, etc. But, perhaps the crown jewel of the entire establishment was the sparring room. It had been a solid favorite of all the students who had ever studied at Catskills, and the teachers hoped it would hold true in this timeline.

Donna, Kori, and Toni, upon entering the room, noticed that they were the last to arrive. The men were already there, dressed in their own sparring clothes and talking quietly amongst themselves as Jason and Kaldur fiddled with a nearby control panel. The former noticed them immediately, his face lighting up. He reached over and wrapped his arm around Donna's waist, pulling her close.

"Ready?" he asked.

She smiled back. "Ready."

Jason glanced at Kaldur and gave him a nod. Kaldur nodded back before pushing a few buttons on the panel.

The Titans stepped back in shock as the floor panels of the sparring area fired up, glowing a luminous light blue. A giant screen, mounted high above on a far-off wall, lit up a similar color, before a series of names were listed off. Next to each name was a number, each of them in multiples of five. Dick squinted his eyes up at the screen, and blinked.

"Is that a scoreboard?"

"It is," Kaldur confirmed. "In the previous timeline, when we first renovated Catskills, one of our students managed to hack into the sparring area and make certain…additions to it. It proved to be so popular with the other students that we elected to keep them. And of course, when we built this room, we decided to add it again."

Roy frowned. "What additions?"

Rather than answer, Kaldur exchanged another look with Jason and Donna before gesturing Garth to come over. An apprehensive Garth, after some momentary hesitation, complied, following his successor through the small gate and into the sparring area. Each floor panel flashed with every step they took, and once they were center stage…

" _Sparring area initializing,_ " a female voice, mechanized and clearly sourced from an AI, spoke, echoing throughout the room. A few of the Titans jumped again. " _Please announce number of combatants, and combatant names._ "

"Two combatants," Kaldur spoke to the ceiling. "Returning combatant Kaldur'ahm and new combatant Garth."

" _Combatants initialized. Is this a timed spar or a scored one?_ "

"Scored. Spar ends at fifteen points."

The scoreboard flashed again, before eliminating all the names but Kaldur's, and adding a new one with Garth, complete with two headshots of themselves next to their names. " _Spar initialized. When you are ready to begin, say 'Start'._ "

"Fifteen points?" Garth asked, aware of how everyone else was listening in.

"A three fall match, basically," Kaldur explained. "Each fall is worth five points. Falls are counted by landing on your back with both shoulders touching the panels at the same time for three seconds or longer, or by submission, either verbal or by tapping on the ground. First fighter to reach fifteen points win."

"Like a video game," Grant mused.

"Exactly," Donna agreed, smirking slightly. "The kids loved it. Made them a lot more eager for sparring practice everyday."

"Which is why I didn't ground Lena for it," Jason noted.

Roy glanced at him in surprise. "Lena?"

"Helena Wayne. My second eldest," Jason answered, looking a little nostalgic. "Even by normal Robin standards, she was a troublemaker. By the second day of camp, she'd hacked into the mainframe and had the entire base dancing to her tune. All my attempts — and Oracle's too — to keep her out failed to last any longer than a couple of hours." He shook his head. "I don't know why I even bothered."

"Neither did we," Kaldur and Donna chorused.

Jason scowled. "Kick his ass, Garth!"

Kaldur rolled his eyes, before settling into a stance. "Ready?"

Garth swallowed, before narrowing his eyes and nodding, crouching into his own stance.

"Good. Start!"

* * *

Sparring, it turned out, was as much a hit with the Titans as it had been with the students. It didn't take long for everyone get into things, and soon a competition broke out, with everyone trying to top each other's scores. Jason and Dick in particular had a rather intense timed spar, trying to see which of them could get the most falls in ten minutes. Unfortunately for both, they had tied.

"Well," Donna said, glancing up at the clock as she helped Kori to her feet. "The kids will start arriving in about three hours. We have enough time for one more spar, and then we have to shower and change and start preparing dinner."

"This early?" Kori asked, dusting herself off while also staring up at the clock.

"Considering how many speedsters we're going to be feeding tonight, yes." Donna turned around and clapped her hands together. "Now, who wants the last spar? Roy, how about you? You haven't had one in a while."

Roy shrugged. "Sure."

"Great! Anyone else up for it?"

"I wouldn't mind."

Everyone stopped and stared at Jason, who gave a half-shrug. Roy scowled.

"Uh, Jay…" Dick started, looking between his little brother and his best friend. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

_Weren't you supposed to be the World's Greatest Detective?_ Dick screamed in his head, resisting the urge to tear his hair out. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up. Jason was giving him a meaningful look, before shifting his gaze towards Roy. Dick understood what it meant immediately. _Better now, than later._

Donna and Kori left the sparring area, and were soon replaced by Jason and Roy. "So, how do you want to do this?" Jason asked as they stretched.

"Twenty-five points."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Five falls? Isn't that a lot?" He glanced at Donna. "Do we even have enough time for that?"

Donna glanced up the clock. "We do," she confirmed.

"What? Are you scared?" Roy taunted.

To his frustration, Jason simply shrugged. "Are you ready?" he asked instead.

Roy narrowed his eyes and nodded, crouching. Jason did the same, and then the bell rung, signalling the beginning of the spar. The two men began to circle each other, as the others watched silently and apprehensively.

Finally, Roy darted over, dealing out three quick jabs which Jason blocked. He followed that up with a kick, which Jason blocked again. Jason retaliated with a side kick of his own, which Roy blocked with his knee — only to stumble back as Jason segued that into a spinning backfist. Before he could recover, Jason grabbed him by the shoulder and kneed him in the gut, before forcing him to the ground. Roy dropped on his back with a groan, with Jason pinning him to the floor. Three seconds later, the bell rang, signalling the scoring of a fall.

Upon hearing that, Jason let Roy go and offered his hand to help him up, only for his furious opponent to use the opportunity to sweep his legs. Jason fell to his back, catching himself before it could touch the floor, only for Roy to pounce on him and begin throwing punches. He immediately put up a guard to block the barrage, careful to keep only one shoulder touching the floor to prevent losing a fall, before grabbing both of Roy's wrists and flipping him off.

Roy landed on his feet, just as Jason returned to his. The latter was a lot more serious now, a certain determination and even eagerness in his eyes. They began exchanging blows, faster and faster until Jason managed to slip behind Roy and grab him by the waist, delivering a german suplex. Landing on his neck with a groan, Roy tumbled forward and went to his knees. Before he could get up, Jason delivered a sharp kick to his side, forcing him back to his back with a hiss. Three seconds later, another fall was counted.

"You can give up, you know," Jason noted casually.

"Fuck you."

"Seriously, though, that was a pretty hard fall—"

"I said… _fuck you_!"

The archer surged to his feet and tackled Jason, slamming him into one of the barriers back first. Jason let out a small grunt, before trying to shove Roy away. Roy, however, held on firm, forcing Jason to deliver repeated elbows to his shoulder in hopes of breaking his grip. Roy retaliated with a liver shot, ceasing Jason's struggles, before lifting Jason onto shoulders and throwing him over onto his back for a fall.

Roy pumped his fist when the bell rang. He then approached Jason, looking to follow up on his advantage — only to freeze when an arm, as fast as a striking snake, shot forward and fisted itself into his shirt.

An angry Jason, a silent snarl on his face, tugged Roy forward harshly, so they were face-to-face, befor shoving Roy away, jumping to his feet. Realizing the danger he was in, Roy immediately charged, hoping to strike first. However, Jason struck the moment he was in striking distance, delivering a double hit to the chest before planting his fist deep into Roy's gut, causing the other man to retch. Jason then kicked him in the chest and pinned him to the ground with his foot. Once the fall was counted, he grabbed Roy by his shirt again and deadlifted him with one hand, before throwing face first into the barrier.

Roy met the barrier with a crash, his face smacking the glass panes before he dropped to his knees, clutching his nose. Jason grabbed him again, this time by the scruff of his neck, and performed a chokehold on him. Roy gasped and struggled, but Jason's hold was firm, and after a half-minute his opponent tapped on the floor, signalling another fall. Jason let go immediately, and Roy once again found himself on his knees. He had a hand to his neck, panting.

"Enough," Jason said, sounding parts exasperated, parts annoyed, and all parts angry. "Surrender the last fall, Harper. You're hurt."

His opponent glared up at him angrily, before once again trying to sweep his legs. Jason saw it this time and jumped up, dodging, before grabbing Roy once again by his shirt tossing him to the center of the ring, back first. He then fell upon the archer like a ton of bricks, dropping one knee to Roy's chest and pinning his shoulders down with both hands. Three seconds passed, and the final fall was counted.

For a long moment, the two men just stared at each other, breathing hard. Then,

"Are we done?" Jason demanded.

Roy continued to glare up at him, before giving a short, robotic nod.

"Good."

Jason offered his hand again. This time, Roy took it.

* * *

"What were you thinking, Roy!" Dick asked his friend furiously.

They were in the Catskills infirmary and med bay, which was (perhaps deliberately) located near the gym. The moment was spar was over, both Jason and Roy were directed there by everyone else to get their bruises treated. Jason was currently another room, with Donna and Kaldur. The Titans were with Roy in his room, with Toni and Garth applying first aid.

"Why would you escalate things like that? It was just supposed to be a friendly spar — we have a mission tomorrow!"

Roy snorted. "You're just mad because it was your brother," he grumbled.

"I'm _mad_ because you picked a fight with one of our hosts! The fact that it happened to be Jason was irrelevant — I would've been mad if it had be any of them!" Dick bit out, hissing.

Rather than retort, Roy simply looked away.

Dick continued glowered for a bit, before the expression faded and he sighed. "Roy," he started, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I know you're still messed up about the whole Donna thing. But taking it out on Jason isn't going to help. She's made her choice. You just need to accept it. Or at least respect it."

Roy bit lip. "I know, Dick. I know." He sighed. "Look, I'll apologize or whatever. But don't expect me to be buddy-buddy with him any time soon, alright?"

Dick puffed out a breath. "Alright. Asking for more would be asking for too much right now anyway."

* * *

"I'm sorry, Donna, I…" Jason sighed, as Donna dabbed some of the bruises on his chest and arms with cream. "I lost my temper. I thought it would be good for him to let out some steam, maybe rid the tension between us, but I overestimated my self-control."

Donna sighed, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "It's okay, Jay. I forgive you. I know why you really did it anyway."

Jason looked away.

"I know you miss him," Donna continued, sounding sad. "I miss him too. But that Roy in the other room — he's not the one we lost, Jason."

"But at the same time, he _is_ ," Jason reminded her, his voice almost choking. A memory flashed through his mind, of the last time he saw _their_ Roy — the Roy had visited him while he was on the edge of life and death, who had given his blessing to their relationship. He looked so much like the one in the other room, it made Jason's heart ache. "And that's what hurts the most."

"I know," Donna told him, resting her chin on his shoulder, her chest against his back. "I know."

The two lovers took comfort each other for that long moment, as they silently mourned their lost friend.

"You guys are so sweet together it's sickening."

"Screw you, Kaldur! _Screw you_!"

* * *

A few hours later, M'gann, recently returned from her visit to her uncle, plopped herself in front of a still-working Wallace, tilting her head. Wallace glanced up at her for a moment, before returning to his work. Kon and Victor were conversing quietly in the corner over another part of the room. Wally and Jesse had long since-departed, taking a break back up in the ground floor of the base.

_So, I heard there was some kind of pow-wow at the gym while I was gone_ , M'gann started, connecting her mind to both Wallace and Kon. _What happened?_

_Sparring practice with the Titans,_ Kon answered, as he lifted something to show Victor, _Jason and Roy._

M'gann winced. _Ouch._

_Yup._

_Specifics?_

_One spar, twenty-five points_ , Wallace replied. _Harper managed a fall._

_Impressive._

_Yeah. Except he pissed off Jason._

_How?_ M'gann sounded skeptical. _It's Roy Harper. You know, the reason why Jason has such a big soft spot for the Arrows to begin with? What could he have possibly done to piss off Jason?_

Kon gave a mental sigh. _Liver shot._

… _Yeah, that makes sense._ M'gann conceded. _How bad?_

_Jason already had two falls. He collected the remaining three in like two minutes. And that was after giving Harper a chance to concede before the last one._ Wallace paused. _Also, he might've broken Harper's nose._

_Nah._ Kon disagreed. _Definitely bruised it enough to give it a nosebleed, though._

M'gann hummed, only to still. _M'gann?_ Wallace probed in concern.

_You guys better finish whatever you're working on right now. The kids have just arrived._

* * *

The last person Tim expected to see when he arrived at Catskills with his friends was his eldest brother. They had decided to use the Super-Cycle (which was now being kept at the JSA Brownstone now that Mount Justice was only being sparingly used) to fly over to the base together since the JLA teleporters were still down. Tim knew from the frequent texts Jason sent to the entire family that the entire place was getting another remodel now that they had the schematics for a lot of technology that they wanted to add to the base to enhance training. If Dick was here, that meant the remodeling had to be almost finished, which was fast even by superhero standards. Jason wouldn't have let the Titans visit otherwise.

The moment they arrived, the group dispersed to talk with their various predecessors and other associated heroes. When Dick saw Cass and him, he adopted a small smile and then scooped them both up in a hug. Tim put up a half-hearted struggle before sighing and returning the hug alongside Cass. It had only been a week since they had last seen either of their big brothers, but it felt almost like a lifetime. Things had been so busy on every end that other than some short text messages, the siblings hadn't been able to really keep up with each other. Hopefully this weekend would partially mend that.

"No Dami and Jon?" Dick asked the moment the embrace ended.

Cass shook her head. "They're already off to the Kent Farm," Tim explained. "And before you ask, Steph is doing an internship at Leslie's clinic. She thought it was best since she can't participate in this week's training."

Dick hummed. "Sorry you lost out on time with your girlfriend, Timmy."

Tim shrugged. "It's fine. According to Jason that by the summer she'll be far enough in her own personal training to join the camp if she wants." He ducked his head. "That is, if everything that's happened lately hasn't scared her off by now."

"Has she given you any indication of that, Tim?"

The three siblings glanced behind them to see their fourth, and technically oldest, sibling leaning against a nearby door edge, staring at Tim expectantly. Tim shook his head. "No, but—"

"But nothing. Steph is made of sterner stuff than you think, Tim. More than that, she cares about you." He stepped forward, looking between both his younger siblings. "She cares about _both_ of you. Even if she doesn't become a vigilante, that's not going to change."

The current Robin stared up at his older brother, before carefully stepping forward and spreading his arms. Jason pulled him forward — and Cass as well — into a hug. "I've missed you too," Jason chuckled.

Tim didn't say anything, but the hand he twisted into his brother's shirt was enough.

* * *

Dinner that night was raucous. The accompaniment of seven teenagers of varying ages had already made a somewhat unruly gathering into a chaotic blowout of almost epic proportions. Powers had been banned almost immediately for that reason alone, but that didn't stop the place becoming something resembling a pigsty, much to Jason's horror and the amusement of everyone else.

A Wii, newly-bought with Wayne money, was plugged into the television, initiating a contest between several teams. Jason was whipping up food at almost lightning speed while shouting out warnings and other recriminations to keep some semblance of order. Wallace was egging everyone on while pointedly ignoring Jason's shouting. Kon was in a quiet corner of the room, making arrangements with Clark and Diana over the phone to meet before heading off to Themyscira the next morning.

It was a good night of fun and relaxation. The last night before the hard work begun.

* * *

_BROOOM!_

"Gah!" Tim squeaked out as he tumbled out of bed, he sheets tangling around his body. The horn continued to air for a moment, before abruptly ceasing. Then there was banging.

"Up and at 'em, Timmers!" Jason's voice called out. "It's time for breakfast!"

"I hate you!" Tim replied with an audible groan.

"No you don't!"

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't!"

"Yes I—"

"Guys!" Donna interjected, her voice slightly muffled by the door.

"Sorry, Donna!" Jason quickly apologized.

Tim snorted. His brother was _so_ whipped.

* * *

When Tim and the rest of his fellow students arrived to downstairs, the table was already a mess of plates that were being piled into the sink. There was still plenty of food, more than enough to feed them even with Bart's appetite, but it was still a rather shocking sight to see. As the teenagers, still slightly rumpled and sleepy and dressed in their pajamas, stared, they heard some slight commotion from the foyer.

They peaked their heads into the hall, where they saw the Titans, fully dressed in their costumes and a few carrying bags, exchanging farewells with their teachers. Upon spotting the children, they were beckoned over so the Titans could say goodbye to them as well.

Tim and Cass saddled up to their oldest brother, slightly downcast. "You're leaving already?"

Dick gave an awkward chuckle. "Sorry you two, but we've got our own team and our own missions to deal with. We took a day off to visit Jason and his team, but we really can't afford to stay any longer."

"But if it makes you feel any better, you'll get to see him next week," Jason added, swinging an arm around their older brother's shoulders. "Dickie here agreed to help us out with something next Wednesday, something involving your training. We'll tell you the specifics after Kaldur's class, but it should be fun for all of us."

The two siblings brightened upon hearing that.

* * *

After the Titans were gone and breakfast was eaten, the children were instructed to head to the locker rooms to change instead of their rooms. "No costumes for the next couple of days," Jason had explained to them. Perplexed but obedient, they abided by his words, with the boys following him while the girls followed Donna. Before they did, however, M'gann had taken Secret aside and had quickly scribbled something a scrap of paper she was carrying. She said a few words before sticking her hand in the surprised girl's ephemeral body. There was brief glow and then…

Well, Secret was no longer floating, nor was there anymore smoke surrounding her. Honestly, if it still weren't for her odd coloration, one could still mistake her for a ghost. She pinched herself a few times, observing the wiggling of her fingers, before glancing up at M'gann in disbelief. "How…?"

M'gann winked. "I've picked up some tricks over the years, and you're hardly the first ghost student we've had to teach. Unfortunately, it isn't permanent. That's beyond my power. However, it should last you through these week's classes. After that, if we need you corporeal again, I'll have to renew the seal with a new one."

"So, I'm…?"

"A normal girl. Just for now."

Greta gasped, before throwing her arms around the Martian. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou…" she chanted, her eyes wet.

M'gann smiled down at her fondly, patting the girl's head. "Don't thank me yet, Greta. You still need to go through Donna's training."

* * *

"Today, children," Donna started, clapping her hands. Instead of wearing her costume, she was wearing leggings, a sports bra, and tennis shoes, with her hands wrapped in bandages. "We are focusing on combat training. Specifically, hand-to-hand combat."

The young heroes, all dressed in near identical exercise clothes and wearing their own tennis shoes, were lined up outside the base in the backyard. They had just finished their stretches, led through them by Donna, and were now waiting to learn what, exactly, they'd be doing today. The crisp mountain air made a great contrast to the pits of dread forming on the bottoms of their stomachs. Jason had given them to Donna for the entire day, citing it as a punishment. There had to be a reason for that.

"Your clothes are lined with a special material that suppresses metahuman abilities. You have not been allowed any weapons, and Cassie, I've sealed your powers away for the duration of the weekend. Essentially, you are all baseline human for this class, and for the rest of your classes for the weekend." She smiled beatifically. "No enhancements at all. Just pure grit, strategy and skill."

Half the class swallowed. Really, the only ones that didn't look worried were Tim, Cass and Cissie. Even Courtney looked slightly apprehensive. She had fought for so long with her belt and staff, it had been a while since she had to rely solely on her own abilities.

"For the morning, we're going to be doing drills. Many, _many_ drills." The smile was still beatific, but there was now a sharp edge to it. "Starting… _now_."

_CR-CRACK!_

Bart glanced down at the ground, and shrieked. Not only was the ground cracking, it was _shifting_.

Suddenly, an absolutely _massive_ Chinese dragon made out of earth burst from the, well, Earth, roaring into the sky before glaring down at the terrified students. Donna clapped her hands again, catching everyone's attention.

"This one is going to chase you around the mountain for the next hour. Your goal is to not get caught. And don't bother hiding — I'll know, and I'll just form a new one to chase after you personally," she explained cheerfully. "Your goal is to just keep moving as much as possible for the next hour. After that, we'll move on to the next exercise. Understood?"

Instead of answering, the children just stared at her. Mostly in horror.

Then the dragon roared again, and the chase was on.

* * *

The morning continued like that for hours, and when noon arrived and Donna ceased the morning session, the kids were about ready to sob in relief. They dragged themselves back into the base, where they quickly showered and changed into new uniforms before heading into the dining room to eat. After lunch was over and they had their one hour-break, they walked into the base's sparring room with trepidation. Having had a taste of Donna's more… _extreme_ training methods, they were dreading what was coming next.

_Maybe we shouldn't have sneaked onto that mission…_ Tim idly thought to himself, before dismissing it. Sure, they were in pain now, but the mission wouldn't have worked out as well as it did without them. It was worth it.

Donna soon walked into the room, observing all of them closely, before heading over to the nearby control panel and pressing a few buttons. Her students watched in awe as the sparring arena came to life, the bioluminescent colors embedding themselves into their minds.

" _Sparring area initializing. Please list combatants for today's session."_

"Seven new combatants. Timothy Drake-Wayne, Cassandra Cain-Wayne, Courtney Whitmore, Bartholomew Allen II, Cassandra Sandsmark, Suzanne King-Jones, and Greta Hayes."

" _Style of session?_ "

"Tournament. Round Robin-style. Each match is a timed spar of five minutes. Final match is sudden death, one fall."

" _Session initialized. Please send in combatants Timothy Drake-Wayne and Greta Hayes._ "

Donna glanced the two in question, and made a gesture with her head. After some reluctance, both Tim and Greta stepped into the sparring area, heading to the center and standing awkwardly apart.

"You've already heard what I've told the AI," Donna started, gathering everyone's attention again. "For the rest of the afternoon, we're doing a round robin-style sparring tournament. Each of you are going to fight each other at least once in a five minute-spar, trying to score as many falls as you can in those minutes. Each fall is worth five points, and after the match is over, the point totals of both fighters will be added to your scores there." She pointed up at the mounted scoreboard, which had a list of seven names, each with a '0' next to them.

"After everyone has fought everyone, the total scores are calculated. Those with the two highest scores will fight again in a sudden death match of one fall. The winner of that match will win the tournament, and gets to decide what movie we're going to be watching tonight after dinner."

Cissie raised her hand. Donna nodded to her, gesturing for her to speak. "What counts as a fall?"

"Either by throwing your opponent onto their back, with both their shoulders touching the floor for three seconds, or by submission: verbal, or by tapping the ground at least three times." The Amazon shrugged. "Wrestling rules, basically."

Another hand was raised. Bart. "What if there's a tie at the end?"

"Depends. If it's for the highest score, then there's no tie-breaker. Those two will be the final two. If it's for the _second_ -highest score, however, then there will be a tie-breaker. It'll be sudden death, like the final."

She glanced between the students. "No more questions? Very well." Donna gave the nod to Tim and Greta. "Just say start, and the match will begin. A buzzer will tell you when the match is finished."

* * *

"So, what movie are we watching today?" Jason asked casually.

There were a series of groans as nearly every teenager present gave him a tired glare. The only one who didn't gave a beaming smile.

" _How to Train Your Dragon,_ " Cass answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sparring arena, as you can probably guess, is inspired by the one used during the first season of _Young Justice_. Still my favorite season of that show, by the way.
> 
> Anyway, the reason I was so late posting this chapter is because I've been distracted by ArlyssTolero's _Forging a Better Future_ series, which I am not officially co-authoring as the idea person and editor/beta. Arlyss have finished the first story up to the halfway point and is now focusing on _Arrow: Rebirth_ , allowing me to focus on my own writing.
> 
> If you like Arrowverse but hate the bad writing it went through during its later seasons, I highly recommend both series (unless you like Olicity). It's really good!
> 
> Next chapter: Wallace.


	28. Knowledge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Young Justice begins their first lesson with Wallace.

When they arrived for breakfast the following morning, the first thing Jason told them (after giving them the standard 'Good Morning') was, "You have Wallace first. Bring your supplies."

The 'supplies', in this case, were standard notebooks, pencils, pens, etc. And a video recorder, in the case of Cass (one locked specifically to her biometrics, in the unlikely case it was stolen or otherwise lost). It didn't take much of a leap to figure out what they would be needed for, but still, the confirmation was disheartening. One of the best parts about being a superhero was how _unlike_ school it was.

After breakfast was over, they trudged over to their room and picked up their book bags, before heading back downstairs. Wallace was waiting for them in the foyer, and guided them to another section of the base, where a classroom was waiting for them. It wasn't a standard classroom, resembling of a mix between a regular one and a small auditorium — or a small college lecture hall. The 'desks' were long counters with chairs in front of them, staggered down with a staircase running through the center, leading all the way down to the bottom, a pitched floor. The bottom level contained a long desk, a pair of whiteboards, mounted on the wall, and a projector hanging above.

"It looks like those academy classrooms from _Naruto_ ," Tim noted.

"Good," Wallace responded, stepping aside and gesturing the children in. "That's what helped inspire the design."

* * *

At Wallace's insistence, they were instructed to sit only within the bottom three rows and within three columns of the stair case. Tim, perhaps unsurprisingly, elected to sit near the bottom with Cass in the second row, to the left of the staircase. Greta had decided to sit next to him (it seemed she also had a crush on him in this timeline, despite his relationship with Stephanie), while Cassie and Cissie sat on the other side of the stairs, in the same row. Bart and Courtney sat in the row above them, Bart to the right of the stairs and Courtney to the left.

Once they were seated, Wallace set his own notes down, picking up a small remote for the projector and turning it on. As it was warming up, he addressed the class. "Alright. For those of you who aren't already aware of who I am or might have forgotten, my name is Wallace West — the Fifth Flash and Bart's successor. I'm going to be your teacher this morning, and what we'll be focusing on is my specialty: knowledge."

There were groans upon hearing that, but they ceased when everyone spotted the bemused eyebrow Wallace began sporting. Despite himself, he couldn't help but smirk. _Happens every time._ "And what is the issue with that?"

"I have enough science and math homework at school," Courtney complained as an answer.

"Oh no. We only teach that stuff if you stop going to school. As long as you're hitting the books and maintaining a B average, then you're fine."

Bart blinked. "What happens if we get lower than that?"

"You get tutoring," Wallace deadpanned. "Anyway, my specialty is knowledge — _superhero_ knowledge. Practical information, such as the strengths and weaknesses of both heroes and villains, major battles and other events in the past, the psychology involved in all of the above, etc."

_Now_ the children were starting to look interested.

Well, all except for one, who raised his hand.

"Yes, Tim, you still need to take this class, even though your dad has already made you memorize the general information of every hero and villain in the world and drilled you in hundreds of different protocols in how to handle each one," Wallace lazily answered, not even bothering to wait for the question.

This caused everyone else to stare at Tim in disbelief. Tim ignored them all in favor of blinking at Wallace. "How—?"

Wallace sighed, cutting him off. "I taught three Robins before you. They always ask that same question. And considering how your brother drew upon _your_ experiences as Robin the most while teaching them…" He shrugged, not electing to finish. "Anyway, onto your first subject: team dynamics."

As if on cue, the lights dimmed and the projector turned on, showing three pictures side-by-side: one of the Justice League, one of the Titans, and one of the Justice Society of America. "Recently," Wallace began, "you connived yourselves onto a rescue mission to save myself and my team, and collaborated with these three teams at the same time: the JLA, the Titans, and the JSA. By some kind of miracle, despite that and despite the usual interactions between these teams, there was no chafing over jurisdiction or leadership or anything of the sort. The entire operation, even with how off the rails it went after you all finally got on the island, went as smoothly as these things ever can." He met each of their gazes head on. "I don't think I have to tell you how rare that is, especially in this time."

Some shook their heads, now alert. Cass had her video recorder on, while Tim was already scribbling notes. While the boy was a slacker when it came to _actual_ school, when it came to anything involving being a superhero he was the most attentive student anyone could find. There was a reason he had been the one to finally take down Lex Luthor for good.

"At the same time, however, it's not entirely surprising either," Wallace continued. "Teamwork tends to smoothen out during a crisis, which this rescue mission certainly was. People are less likely to argue when they're on the clock and know that something or someone important is on the line. That's why the addition of a _fifth_ team — my team — did little to disrupt the teamwork between the other four teams, especially when Kyle arrived on the scene."

"Now, here is my question to you: why is it after this situation, and situations like it that happened before it, that these three teams do not collaborate more, despite the fact that they can achieve so much more if they do?"

The children stopped their scribing to exchange hesitant looks with one another. Finally, Cissie raised her hand. "Cissie," Wallace said, calling on the archer.

"Is it because they have…different team dynamics?" She answered hesitatingly.

"Correct," Wallace told her, before turning off the projector. The lights went back to their original brightness, and the projector screen rolled up automatically, revealing the whiteboards. Wallace picked up a black marker, and started making columns, titling each one after the JLA, the Titans, and the JSA respectively. "I want you to describe to me the team dynamics of each of these teams, starting with the Justice League. After we're done, we'll compare and contrast each of these teams and draw our own conclusions. Now, who wants to start?"

There was a lot of hesitation again, before it was Tim that finally decided to bite the bullet. He put up his hand.

"Yes, Tim?"

"The Justice League are…professional."

Wallace hummed. "You could say that for all of these teams, though."

"Yes," Tim conceded, but then defended his answer. "But the Justice League is the most professional of all three teams. While they maintain cordial relationships with each other, and many of the members _are_ friends, they don't live together like the Titans do, and have more distant relationships than the members of the JSA do. The members are more independent — they have their own lives and cities to tend to."

"Well-argued," Wallace complimented him once he finished, and then wrote 'Professional' in the JLA column. He also added other traits: 'Independent Members' and 'Cordial Relationships'. "Anything else?"

Another round of looks were exchanged, before everyone shook their heads.

"Okay then, moving on to the JSA. Courtney, I assume you want to take this one. How would you describe your team's dynamic?"

Courtney rubbed the back of her head. "The closest comparison I can make is that we're a family."

"Elaborate."

"Well…the oldest members have known each other for years. And the younger members, they're associated with other members of the older generation. We're a mix of older mentors, experienced heroes, and rookies like myself, but with this connection that the members of the JLA don't have. So our relationships are much closer and more casual, but there's also something of hierarchy involved because unlike the JLA, we don't all have similar levels of experience."

Wallace nodded along to the explanation, and wrote down a few things under the JSA column: 'Family-like Relationships', 'Mixed Experience Levels', and 'Hierarchy'. "Alright then. That leaves the Titans. Who wants to take that one?"

Now a little more confident, Cassie immediately raised her hand. Pleased, Wallace silently pointed to her. "The Titans are a mix of the dynamics of both these teams," she answered promptly. "Off-the-clock, they all live together in the same base, though some only part-time. They're almost as close as the JSA, but as friends — they've lived together, hanged together, dated each other, and even grew up together. But when they're on the job, they're almost as professional as the JLA. They're a well-oiled machine with defined tactics and they have a leader they follow without question: Nightwing."

"Good, good," Wallace said when she finished, inscribing three bullet points under the Titans column like he had with the other two columns. The first was 'Centralized Leadership', 'Solid Division of Professional and Personal', 'Close Relationships'. "Now we have general ideas of the dynamics of each of these teams. Here's another question: which is the most effective team dynamic of these three teams?"

Silence.

"…are you asking us which is the best team?" Cissie stuttered out, once she shook off her shock.

Wallace shrugged. "I don't know. Am I?"

"This is one of those trick questions," Bart accused him, careful to keep his words slow (well, slow _er_ ) this time. "The kind that teachers ask to force students to think."

Instead of answering, his cousin shrugged again. "You can debate this all you want, but I think your time would be better spent answering the first question I asked instead. As I'm the teacher, I decide when this class ends, and this class only ends once I've taught you everything I want to teach you today. So…" Wallace leaned against his desk and gave them all an expectant look.

"The Titans."

Everyone glanced at Cassie, and Wallace nodded to her to continue.

"The Titans have the best dynamic because theirs is a balance between both dynamics. They're close off the field, and that bond only enhances their cohesiveness as a team on it because they know they can trust each other," Cassie explained, sounding very firm in her reasoning.

However, there was someone that disagreed. Tim frowned, and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Cassie, but I have to disagree with you. While yes, the close interpersonal relationships of the Titans are a large part of why they're so effective, it's caused them problems in the past before. Remember my brother's wedding with Starfire? And how that led to Raven temporarily turning evil because of her burgeoning feelings for him?" Tim crossed his arms. "As much as I look up to Dick, that could've been avoided if he had kept his relationships with both women professional and maintaining friendships with them instead of electing to date one of them. That's why I feel that the Justice League has the best dynamic. While they're friendly with each other, it's not so much in a way that it allows them to cloud their work on the field."

Wallace wondered if Tim had realized he had insinuated Jason was making a poor judgement choice in dating a teammate too, even as he pointed at a somewhat belligerent-looking Courtney to add to the discussion.

"I disagree with your disagreement," the wielder of the Cosmic Staff asserted, sitting up a little straighter as everyone's attention fell on her. "While yes, the excessive professionalism of the Justice League means they don't allow their personal issues with one another to affect their field work, it also means that they're the most prone to in-fighting. They're teammates first, friends seconds, so the moment there's dissent and they feel like the team can't work anymore, instead of trying to work through their issues they just disband instead. I mean, just look at the current team — what iteration are they? The fifth or sixth? We've already lost count. And even now there's still a lot of bad blood that lingers between certain former members of the JL, years after the original breakup over their respective teams."

She placed a hand on her heart as she continued on with her argument. "That's why, in my completely unbiased opinion," there were snorts following that statement and even Wallace couldn't help looking amused, "I believe that the team with the best dynamic is the JSA. They've disbanded the least amount of times, their current iteration is the longest-lasting superhero team in years, and the mentor/mentee relationships means there's less dissent within the team because of the understanding of a hierarchy."

"But the JSA tends to be very 'old school'," Cassie pointed, not even bothering to wait for Wallace to call on her. "They can be set in their ways and aren't as open to new ways of doing things as they should be. Plus, with their hierarchal dynamic, the older members always lead and have the final say, even in situations where their viewpoints might be biased."

This proved to be the wrong thing to say, because it set Courtney off into a tirade about Nightwing and how having one undisputed leader left an entire team into disarray when Nightwing was conflicted or otherwise indisposed. Which caused Cassie to batter back about the general prickliness of the older JSA members. Then Tim jumped in and the argument _really_ got off the rails. The rest of the students just watched, while Wallace just sighed, before opening one of the drawers of his desk and taking something out: an airhorn.

_SKREEEE!_

Everyone winced at that increasingly familiar sound. Wallace put the horn back into its drawer and slid it close before eying his class once again. "Does anyone else in the class have an opinion?"

Slowly, Greta raised her hand. When Wallace nodded towards her, she spoke in a halting tone. "I don't know which team dynamic is better," she admitted, "but…but it looks like they all have pros and cons. So I guess…none of them are better?" She shrugged helplessly.

Wallace hummed, and then smiled. "I agree," he said, shocking her and just about everyone else. "There _is_ no dynamic that is inherently better than the other. They are all different, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses. Much like the heroes who employ them."

He then went to the other whiteboard and started writing another set of columns, each titled after a team like the last one. "Bart," he said, calling on his cousin, "describe to me the traits of the average Justice League member."

Bart blinked, and then shrugged. "Adults. And not young adults, like the Titans, but real adults. Almost middle-aged. I guess…I guess they're more settled." He thought things over for a bit. "And I guess they're independent, like we said before. They have obligations outside the JL, and sometimes those obligations take precedence."

Just like before with the other chart, Wallace inscribed a series of bullet points under the JL's column: 'Older Adults', 'Settled', and 'Independent — Outside Obligations'. "Good. Cissie, the Titans."

Cissie rubbed the back of her head. "Young adults. Grown up kid heroes. More dedicated to the team, due to lack of obligations. I'm pretty sure Nightwing and the Flash are the only ones handling their own cities."

Wallace wrote down 'Young Adults', 'Former Child Heroes', and 'Minimal Outside Obligations'. "Greta. The JSA."

"I'm not sure there's a 'standard' JSA member," Greta commented, shrugging. "There's three different kinds: the old veterans, the experienced heroes, and the rookies. And they're all connected to the Golden Age JSA."

"That's good enough for me," Wallace told her, inscribing a final two bullet points — 'Mix of Veterans, Experienced, and Rookies' and 'Golden Age JSA Connection' — under the JSA column. "Now, here's my next question: why did I ask all of you to describe to me what the standard member would be for each of these teams?"

"Need."

Heads whipped around as everyone stared at Cass, who spoke her first word since the class had started. Her video recorder was still sitting on her desk, but the expression on her face was very firm. "Need," she repeated.

Wallace smiled. "Correct," he said, putting the cap back on his marker and tossing it back and forth between his hands before pointing it at all of his students. "A common, but incorrect belief is that the dynamics of a team involve a simple pick and choose. That couldn't be farther from the truth. In reality, they develop gradually as a team gets to know each other better, and forms according to a variety of factors: perception, personalities, lifestyles, wants, needs, goals, etc. That's why the dynamic of every team, not just those three, is different — because no one person on any team is the same, and while they share similarities, they need to accommodate for the differences."

The speedster placed his hand on the second whiteboard, next to the second chart. "Take the Justice League, for example. That team is comprised primarily of middle-aged adults who are fully settled into both their hero and civilian careers, who not only have obligations to the Justice League, but also have obligations to their own cities and families. Hence, their team dynamic is one of equals, and while some like Batman might occasionally take charge, in the end all the members have an equal say."

He then stepped over to the other side of the chart and gestured to the JSA's column. "The JSA, meanwhile, is comprised of veteran superheroes from the Golden Age, experienced heroes that wouldn't be out of place with the Justice League, and younger, developing heroes — such as Stargirl." Wallace nodded towards Courtney, who blushed. "With such an eclectic group of people, a hierarchy of mentorship and leadership only makes sense, because there are three different factions of people in the group who are all in different places in their lives. Some aren't as experienced and confident as others and need guidance, and others feel obligated to help them."

"That leaves the Titans. The Titans are a group of young adults who are more experienced than the standard hero due to their pasts as child heroes — but are also still growing adults trying to find their own places in life and the world and are trying to discover themselves. They might be more experienced than all of you, but they're still trying to get their feet wet when it comes to life in general, whether they want to admit or not. Hence, while they see each other as equals and are casual with each other, they still feel the need to have some kind of authority, a pillar that they can look to and lean on. That's why they have a defined and undisputed leader in Nightwing."

Wallace watched as his students, now very alert, started scribing down as many notes as they could. Except for Cass, though she too was re-reading the words on the whiteboards, repeating them beneath her breath. Jason would be pleased at her progress, he couldn't help but note. It also reminded him to tell her that there was a chance that her fellow classmates would want to watch the progression of the class on her video recorder, to write down any notes they missed.

Once they were done writing, he spoke again. "One of the things you're going to be doing with us is developing your team dynamic, figuring out the roles you want to play while out in the field. I know that in the cases of some of you, you're a part of a different team when you're not here; but when you _are_ here, you're one class, and thus one team. Defining your team dynamic is important, because it helps you develop solid maneuvers and plans for missions, and the more you deepen this dynamic, the better your teamwork will be. One day, it may even be good enough that you won't need to communicate in order to work together and achieve your objectives."

"Though, I need to say this as well," Wallace continued, "You are _not_ going to develop your team dynamic with me. My specialty is knowledge — while I can teach you about the theory and the practical applications, putting it into actual practice is the purpose of your other classes. Instead, you will be developing your teamwork with M'gann, starting this afternoon." He then uncapped his marker again. "Now, moving on. We've discussed the psychology behind the dynamics of hero teams. But what about villain teams? You'll note that there is a distinct lack of villain teams, especially compared to villainous organizations such as the League of Assassins. Why is that?"

Tentatively, Tim put up his hand. "Is it because villains are a 'superstitious, cowardly lot'?"

Wallace laughed. "No, but you're close. It's because most, if not all villains and their goals are inherently selfish. For example…"

* * *

Lunch was a more lively affair compared to breakfast. The latter had been more subdued due to the dread of what many of the children believed to be the superhero equivalent of their classes at school. While Jason had to admit that wasn't an unfair comparison, he knew Wallace was an experienced and apt enough teacher to get them engaged regardless. Besides, the subject matter they had to teach was far more interesting to these children than anything a regular high school, even somewhere as elite as Gotham Academy, could provide them.

"So," he asked his two younger siblings while dipping some of his french baguette into his tomato soup. Farther up the table, everyone else was watching an eating contest between Wallace and Bart, trying to see who was the bigger bottomless pit. "How was your first class with Wallace?"

Next to him, Tim was spooning his own soup onto a separate bowl, where a piece of grilled cheese was sitting on the side. Jason had elected to go simple for lunch today and do something a little more elaborate for dinner instead. Across from them was Cass, who was mimicking both of them and dipping both her baguette and her grilled cheese into her own soup, while also crushing some croutons into the stew. "It was…good," Tim replied after a moment. "Really good. Very interesting. Though my head kind of hurts — he asks a lot of questions, and there was a lot of arguing involved."

"You should expect that with his classes," Jason commented. "Wallace knows his class has the potential to be the most boring, so he does his best to make it interesting. And nothing makes sitting in a classroom more interesting than a healthy debate. It also makes it a good compliment for M'gann's class. That's why we typically pair those two classes together."

Tim looked up. "What _is_ her class going to be like, by the way?"

Jason paused. In that time, Cass looked up as well, and both siblings were watching their older brother intently. "M'gann's class is going to be…spirited," he finally answered.

"Wallace said her specialty was teamwork."

"It is," Jason confirmed. "No one knows what it means to be part of a team more than a telepath. It takes a lot of trust to allow one into your mind, let alone allowing one to link it with theirs and the minds of others during a battle. The fear of your privacy being compromised, of having your innermost thoughts possibly broadcasted to others…" He shrugged. "M'gann has faced her own share of distrust in her time, and she's learned how to resolve it and, failing that, work around it in her own ways. You'll learn much from her."

Tim nodded along. "And her classes? How does she teach?"

"Interactive, at least compared to Wallace's. Not as many lectures, but lots of activities. Oh, and minimal combat."

The siblings blinked. "Really? But it's a teamwork class, isn't it?"

Jason eyed him for a moment. "You're thinking about battle maneuvers and combinations, aren't you?" He asked knowingly. "Tim, that's something you'll deal with in _my_ class. M'gann's class is more about building the trust needed in order to use that sort of teamwork."

"What do you mean?" His younger brother asked, perplexed. "You mean, like…trust falls and stuff?"

Jason sighed again. "You'll see."

* * *

It was quiet. Too quiet.

But then again, that was only to be expected. His two eldest were living on their own and dealing with their own responsibilities, his next two eldest were with one of them to further their own training and his youngest was staying with his best friend on said best friend's farm. It was only him, his butler/father figure, and the girlfriend of one of his sons.

Make no mistake, Bruce _liked_ Stephanie. She was determined, spunky, and her liveliness had brought at least two of his children out of their shells. He liked her so much that he couldn't understand how his other self had ever _dis_ liked her — she was a good girl, despite (or, perhaps, in spite of) the father she had the bad luck to be born to. Honestly, if it weren't for her mother and her obvious romantic infatuations with Tim, Bruce would've considered adopting her himself already. Either that, or at least taking her in as a ward.

But as much as he was fond of Stephanie, she was just one girl. And for all her vibrancy, not even she could fill in all the space in Wayne Manor, at least not without his other children. They made this place feel alive in a way that made Bruce dread the day they all moved out like Dick did. Like Jason was posed to do, whenever he felt they were ready to face on the incoming crises without his constant watch. It made him feel…empty.

At least he had other things to occupy his mind. The USB Jason had given him was a treasure trove of information, containing the answers to most, if not all his questions. Some of the files were locked away, only to be released when he learned of certain events from the mouths of Jason's teammates. One in particular: Flashpoint. Judging by the name, it had to do with the Flash Family and whatever event that had involved the question of Wallace West's existence, something even Bruce had trouble wrapping his head around. How is it that the boy…or man, he guessed, was not supposed to _exist_ yet? Even before he was transformed into an adult, Wallace had already been eleven years old. If he wasn't supposed to exist until _now_ …

Bruce was a detective. No, better than that — he was the _World's Greatest Detective_. But for all his brilliance, even the cosmic ongoings of the universe and the multiverse stumped him from time to time. Give him a murder or kidnapping or even the secret machinations of an ancient order of assassins, and he'd have all your answers one way or the other. But things like magic and gods and space entities and he'd do his best, but he would be out of his depth. He had just always been good at hiding it.

Jason and even Dick had both seemed to be better about it, but Jason had been dealing with things like this since he was a child and Dick had always been more open-minded than Bruce, and in a way that didn't make him an overly-paranoid bastard like his adoptive father. They knew what they were doing. Bruce sometimes wondered if he ever did.

"Um, B?"

Bruce turned around and stared at his sole remaining chargem who was carrying a sheaf of papers in her arms. While Stephanie was spending her days interning at Leslie's clinic until Tim and Cass returned, she spent her nights at the Manor with Bruce, continuing her training. She hadn't outright confirmed her decision to become a vigilante yet, but the fact that she was already taking lessons in detective work and hacking in addition to her lessons in combat, Bruce knew it was only a matter of time. Tim, with the help of his siblings, already had some preliminary sketches made for her costume when she inevitably made the plunge.

Knowing how intimidating the image of Batman was to his newest student, he removed his cowl to reveal his face. While Stephanie made no outward reaction to the change, he saw the tension leech out of her shoulders immediately, and internally patted himself on the back. He really was getting better at this. "Yes, Stephanie?"

"You know that list of names you gave me to investigate?" For further emphasis, she lifted a piece of paper from the stack. "The one with the names of Gotham's elite?"

Bruce kept his expression cool. He knew exactly what she was talking about. "Yes. What about it?"

"Well, I've been analyzing the movements of everyone on the list, like you told me to, and…" she hesitated.

"You noticed a pattern?" Bruce ventured.

Slowly, Stephanie nodded.

"Did you document it like Tim taught you to?"

"I did," she shuffled the papers and handed a small report to him. He took it from her hand and read through it, furrowing his brow with every line. "About half of those names have departed from Gotham on 'business trips' and 'family retreats' and other similar excuses for the past two or so months."

"I can see that, but Stephanie, for people in that income bracket that's normal." Tim's biological parents came to mind, and Bruce was careful to squash that thought down. There was no need to get angry, especially at the dead.

Stephanie pursed her lips. "I know, B. But that's just the thing. All of the flights listed in there are _departures_ from Gotham."

_Departures…?_ Bruce's eyes widened as the realization hit, just as Stephanie continued on with her explanation.

"There's no record of any of them coming _back_ to Gotham."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun, dun, dun! What are those list of names? Why is Bruce so freaked out? What's going on? You'll find out soon enough.
> 
> In other news, I hoped you liked the look at Wallace's class. I was going for that 'college classroom' feel, something that would be a lot more respectful to the intelligence of students. That's not always the case, but it generally is from my own experiences.
> 
> Next chapter: M'gann's class.


	29. Teamwork and Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How will Tim and friends fare in M'gann's class? See next time, on Dragon Ba—this chapter! I mean this chapter!

M'gann's classroom, unlike Wallace's lecture hall, was open floor with soft navy blue carpeting and a large, circular rug in the image of the Justice League's famous emblem. The only similarities between the two rooms were the existence of a desk towards the back of a room, a pair of whiteboards and markers, a projector screen (which she immediately pulled down with her telekinesis), and a mounted ceiling projector (which she turned on to allow it to warm up). While it was doing that, she took out her laptop from her bag and turned it on, booting it up.

As she was doing that, her students filed into the room one by one. The moment all seven students were inside the room, she gestured them to the rug and told them to seat themselves in a circle. Once they were all settled in, she seated herself between Greta and Courtney and observed them all for a moment, watching them fidget under her gaze.

For this class, M'gann had elected to use her human guise instead of her Miss Martian form. While her students were used to strange appearances, they were all dressed in civvies, so it was only fair if she did the same. Besides, it wasn't like they were going to be doing any combat training or anything of the sort. They would have plenty of _that_ in the next two following days.

"Well, welcome to my class," she began once she was certain she had everyone's attention, "If you don't know my name already, it's M'gann M'orzz, though you may just call me M'gann. My field name is Miss Martian, and I guess you can consider me the successor of my Uncle J'onn, or Martian Manhunter. I will be the one helping you develop your teamwork."

"Now, there are several different ways to develop teamwork for any variety tasks — though typically, the usual ways are either through training or bonding. Oftentimes, it's both. As you've already begun training together under your other teachers in your other classes, you will primarily spend your time with me bonding with each other and getting to know one another better."

"Let me explain one thing to you, though: many believe that the key to a successful team is being able to define and separate the realms of professional and personal. This is only true an extent, for the simple reality that it's impossible to do completely," M'gann swept her gaze across the teenagers again, feeling their rapt attention with a light touch of her powers. "Despite what some of your mentors may say, there's always going to be spillover — your personal life can and will bleed into your professional life, and vice versa. Trying to prevent that will only cause you problems down the line. While I can't delve into why — that is under the purview of Kyle Rayner's class — I can teach you how to work around this, at least when it comes to each other."

"Hence, your goal with me is not just to get to know each other, but to also learn how to respect whatever differences you may have with one another both now and in the future, no matter how big or how small. By doing this, those differences and personal issues are much less likely to interfere with your work in the field. That is why we will also be having debates over different topics, both trivial and not-so-trivial, in addition to standard bonding activities."

That said, she used her telekinesis to lift a sheaf of papers from her bag, which had settled on a desk towards the back of the room. She floated one down to each of her students, only letting go when they had a firm grasp on the parchment. She could see the brief flashes of surprise on each face, and resisted the urge to smirk.

The sheet was a questionnaire of around three or so pages, printed front and back. The questions on it ranged from the innocuous, like full names and favorite colors, to the invasive: tragic moments in each person's life, why they chose to become a superhero, etc. Certainly something not to be left around in case of compromising their identities.

"This is a questionnaire that each of you are required to fill out completely. However, not immediately," M'gann explained, to their confusion. "Instead, you're going to fill all the questions you feel comfortable answering out loud in front of everyone here, right now. Later on in the coming weeks, as you grow more comfortable with each other, you'll start filling in the rest."

"Some of you might think that may never happen — especially you, Boy Wonder," the girls giggled at the blushing Tim, "but you'll soon learn that you're wrong. With the amount of time all of you be spending together in the coming months, you'll find you'll be much more comfortable sharing your more personal secrets later on than you do now. Once everyone is done filling out their forms, which I will know, because I _always_ do, you're going to write out a full introductory speech using that information, and deliver it out loud to everyone when the time comes."

"Let me make this clear to all of you, though — you are _not_ allowed to share whatever you wrote on your questionnaire with anyone else until it's time to give your speech, so don't think about collaborating together to delay the assignment indefinitely. If you try, then what Donna had you do yesterday will look like a cakewalk compared to the punishment I'll levy on all of you." Her class winced upon hearing that, and M'gann could've sworn she heard someone wimper.

She glanced at Jason's younger sister, the young image of her friend. "The sole exception is you, Cass. I understand you're still struggling with your reading and writing right now, so if you wish for help in writing your responses — or prefer another method of answering them, such as recording them in video — you are allowed to do so. Just not with anyone in this room."

Cass blinked upon hearing that, but slowly nodded. M'gann imagined that Stephanie would be happy to help with that, and tried not to let the pang of pain at the thought overwhelm her. She had yet to see Stephanie, after all, though hopefully the younger version of her friend would be able to complete her training soon so she could join everyone here.

With that final word said, the next fifteen minutes or so were spent scribbling down answers. M'gann suggested that if they were ready to answer a meatier question already, then instead of answering right now, they should circle the number of the question and answer later when they had the free time. She also told them that, if it made them more comfortable, she could email them the file of the questionnaire, which would allow them to type up their answers instead of writing them. That interested many of them, so she wrote down a quick note in her planner to send a group email after class was over with the file attached.

Once she was certain everyone was done, she clapped her hands, catching their attention once again. "Okay then, put those papers away. We're going to have a debate." M'gann stood up and went to her desk, while also turning off the lights. Once she was sure the projector was on, she connected her laptop to it and clicked on a file she had specifically prepared for this class.

Everyone blinked when it came into view on the screen. It was a photo of a dress — and not a particularly good one either.

"Here is my question," M'gann began, once again resisting the urge to smirk. "What is the color of this dress?"

Confused looks were exchanged, before Tim sighed and raised his hand. "Yes, Tim?"

Tim rolled his eyes. "It's white and gold."

"Wait, what?" Cassie blinked. "What are you talking about Tim? It's black and blue."

The third Robin stared at her. "What are _you_ talking about? It's definitely white and gold."

Next to him, Cass shook her head. "No, little brother. Black and blue."

"Sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with you girls," Courtney interjected. "The Boy Wonder has it right — it's white and gold."

As the four began to argue in earnest, the remaining three adolescent heroes (Cissie, Greta, and Bart) watched the fireworks with growing dread. Cissie even turned her head around to stare directly at M'gann in wide-eyed horror. "What have you done?" she whispered, terror in her voice.

M'gann simply smiled at her.

* * *

The argument continued for another half-hour. Eventually, Cissie was forcibly inserted into it, forcing her to admit that she saw the dress as black and blue. Greta then chimed in and said that she saw it as white and gold. That left poor, unfortunate Bart as the tiebreaker, a role he completely and utterly failed at because he could see the dress as both white and gold _and_ as black and blue. It was another ten minutes before they finally confronted the amused M'gann and asked for the answer.

"It's black and blue," she replied, grinning as half her class pumped their fists in victory while the other half slumped in defeat. "The reason some of you are seeing it in white and gold is due to a difference in neurology, involving any number of factors that even in my time had yet to be fully determined."

M'gann stepped away from her desk and turned the projector off. "I always use this as the first argument for my classes," she explained as she turned back on the lights, "because it stimulates debate, and makes you students more willing to disagree with each other. As you all know, most people are taught to avoid conflict, which is admirable. However, it's not healthy to avoid _all_ conflict, because that's what leads to things like herd mentality."

"Conflict, in all forms, is a vital part of the human — or perhaps sentient would be more apt — condition. It's through conflict and adversity that people are allowed to grow and develop into becoming more." She pulled down the projector screen, allowing it to roll back up and reveal the whiteboards. "Obviously, violent conflict should be avoided as much as possible. _Non-violent_ conflict, such as debates and competitions, on the other hand, should be encouraged — though in moderation and only with relatively low stakes."

"The reality is that when you're on a team, there's always going to be some conflict. You might disagree with a plan your teammates have decided on, or on who to invite to your team, or even whether or not _you_ should be on the team. And that's fine. That's how teams, develop, grow, and decide what are the best methods to achieve their objectives. You're not going to agree on everything, and quite frankly, you shouldn't. These debates are to help foster that, while also reminding you to be respectful of each other's opinions and not allow them to compromise your working relationship or even your personal relationship. You don't know how many teams have broken apart simply because a few members couldn't agree to disagree."

M'gann crossed her arms. "I have to warn you, though, that not all these debates are going to be easily settled. There are certain topics, _serious_ topics, usually pertaining to personal philosophies, where there is no right answer and you'll have to reach an accord on your own without me as the final say, just as a mediator. It won't be for a while, though, so you should be fine for now. Any questions?"

Greta held up her hand. "Where did you get that picture? And where can we find that dress?"

"I got the picture from Jason. As for the dress, it won't be designed and made for another three to four years."

Now everyone was staring at her. "…What?" Cissie asked flatly.

"This photo is from a meme that went viral on the Internet in early 2015," M'gann explained, shrugging. "Jason has almost his entire database stored and secured in his helmet's hardware. As this is a standard part of this course's lesson plan, he had this stored on there as well."

The children gaped at her. M'gann ignored their expressions. "Now," she clapped her hands, "next debate. Which are better: Pirates, or Ninjas?"

* * *

"Your friends are weird," Tim bluntly told his brother the moment class finished and dinner began. "So are you, for that matter."

Jason raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. "That's fair. Need I ask what prompted this?"

"M'gann used a meme from the future to teach us to argue with each other."

"Ah, yes. The dress." Jason shook his head in fond amusement. "That's always worth a few laughs."

The rest of the class was milling around the dining table, waiting as Kaldur set the table and M'gann brought out the food with her telekinesis. Jason had used the extra time to go really elaborate with tonight's spread: Korean barbecue. Courtesy of the cook book Alfred had gifted him for Christmas earlier that year.

Tim frowned as he observed the room and noticed all the missing people, before glancing back at his brother. "Is this really it? Where are the rest of you? I know Kyle is in space, but what about everyone else."

"Well, after he finished his class Wallace sped over back to Central City to spend the rest of the weekend with his Aunt Iris," Jason explained as he guided his little brother to the table. "Kon is still on Themyscira, and Donna is spending time with her son. They'll all be back tomorrow or Tuesday."

They sat down, and once everyone was seated, dinner began. The conversation flowed freely as it did at lunch, and many compliments were made to the chef. There was also further discussion about some of the debate topics that didn't have a definitive resolution (such as the 'Pirates vs. Ninjas' one, to the amusement of the adults).

As the dinner winded to its end, however, someone asked the dreaded question: "What are we doing tomorrow?"

A round of looks were exchanged. Jason and M'gann both gave meaningful looks to Kaldur, who shrugged. The former two exchanged another look, before both sighed.

"You're going camping," Jason answered bluntly.

There was a beat of silence.

"…Camping," Cissie deadpanned.

"Camping."

"…Why are we going camping?"

"My specialty."

Every eye turned towards Kaldur, and the children tried to hide their apprehension. While all the Era 2 Leaguers were particularly brutal during the last battle, Kaldur was the only one who actively tried to kill someone while not under brainwashing. Even if he had stopped after some words from his predecessor, such an action left an impression, especially on young, _impressionable_ teenagers.

"You'll see tomorrow," Kaldur, seemingly oblivious to their hesitance. "But for now, I suggest you all go to sleep early tonight. You've got a _long_ day tomorrow."

A few of the students swallowed.

* * *

The following morning, after breakfast, the kids were sent down to their respective locker rooms, where uniforms and packs of survival gear had been stored into their assigned lockers. Jason instructed them to make sure they didn't forget a single thing, before sending them off with further instructions to meet Kaldur in the backyard once they were dressed and ready to go.

He was already waiting for them in his own pack and gear, similar to theirs except with a black band around his right arm, no doubt to denote his status as a teacher. As soon as they were all gathered around, he did a quick count-off before clearing his throat to catch their attention.

"Hello, everyone," his voice was deep, smooth and steady, "My name is Kaldur'ahm, though you may call me Kaldur for short. I was the second Aqualad and the third Aquaman, succeeding Garth, aka Tempest of the Titans, for both."

"My speciality is the environment — specifically, adapting to any all environments and using them to your advantage, even in non-combat situations. While it's important for heroes to manipulate whatever dangerous situations they're in to their advantage as much as possible, the reality is that there are always going to be certain factors that we consistently won't have control over. The environment is one of them." He swept his gaze over the attentive students. "This is because we are typically more reactive than proactive. It is not a knock on our priorities, but rather a result of the sheer weight of the responsibilities thrust upon us."

"The purpose of my class is to not just work with this, but work around it, so no matter what environment you're in, you're never completely helpless. Whether it is a desert or a beach or a rainforest or even somewhere like here, in the Appalachian Mountains, you'll know how to survive and even how to thrive if need be."

Kaldur crossed his arms. "Now, originally I was going to hold the first class in the HSR, but after talking it over with the others, I've decided otherwise. Instead, your first class will be here, in the Mountains. After going through an overview of this environment, we're going to learn some basic survival skills, such as how to start a fire, where to find clean water, edible food, etc." He nodded towards the backpack he was wearing. "Your packs will contain all the tools you need to survive. Note that in future classes, that will not always be the case — in some courses, you won't have anything at all except the clothes on your backs." Many swallowed upon hearing that.

"After I'm done teaching you those skills and satisfied that you won't die within a night out here, I'm going to leave you to stay the night over on the mountain, and will come to collect all of you approximately 10:00 a.m. tomorrow." He held up a hand, forestalling the questions. "As far as safety is concerned, each of your uniforms has a tracker so we can keep an eye on each of your locations, and every pack contains a distress beacon that can be activated in the case of emergencies, such as serious injury."

Tim frowned, and raised his hand. Kaldur nodded towards him, silently giving him permission to speak. "What about minor injuries?"

"You mean like that scratch that Cissie is about to get from that mountain lion?"

Shocked, the students all whirled around towards Cissie's direction, where a mountain lion was indeed approaching her from behind. The teenagers froze, with Cissie cringing away momentarily. When the lion was set to pounce, however, she steeled herself, and kicked it away as it jumped.

The cougar rolled back before landing on its feet. It snarled at at the entire group, leaning back in preparation to pounce once more…until a long machete suddenly buried itself into the ground in front of it. The cougar looked up to see Kaldur glaring coldly down at it. They locked gazes for a moment, before the animal fled away in fear.

Kaldur kept glaring at its retreating form, and only when it was completely out of sight did he turn around to observe the shaking forms of his students, absentmindedly twisting the machete out of the ground. His eys softened. "Are you alright?"

"We're fine," Cissie blurted out, "especially me. I'm fine. It just…startled me. I don't know why, I've faced off against scarier stuff—"

"Just not without your usual weapons," Kaldur pointed out, "Or your gadgets, or, in the cases of some of you, your powers."

Tim's head turned sharply at that. "That was deliberate, wasn't it?"

Kaldur raised an eyebrow. "What was deliberate?" He asked measuredly.

"This entire weekend. We haven't used any of our powers, or our tools or weapons or anything." Tim scowled. "It was all to prepare us for this class, wasn't it? To get used to the idea of being vulnerable, like any normal civilian."

The Atlantean stared at him for a long moment. And then, he smiled. "Your brother always did say you were the smartest member of your family," he shook his head fondly, "I'd almost forgotten why. But to answer your question, yes. This was deliberate." Kaldur crossed his arms again. "Your powers, your weapons, your gadgets…they're all wonderful things that give you many advantages."

His eyes sharpened. "And that means that they'll be the first things your enemies will try to neutralize whenever in a hostile situation. You've heard this spiel before: never rely on your abilities or any of your weapons, always be prepared to fight without them. Well, here's the live test."

He turned around. "Now, come. Since Tim mentioned it first, we'll start with a review of basic first aid."

* * *

"I still say we should've used the HSR," Kaldur announced the moment he entered the kitchen. It had been a couple hours since his class started, and he had finally finished teaching the students all they needed to know to survive the night. He had since left them in one of the farther parts of the mountain, using the trail of marked trees he had secretly made to find his way back to the base. He wondered if any of them noticed.

"I thought we agreed it was too early for the HSR," M'gann pointed out, leaning over the counter. Jason, meanwhile, was busy putting the finishing touches on lunch. Since it was only going to be the adults for the rest of the day and tomorrow morning, meal preparation was assured to go much quicker. "We use the HSR for combat simulations. Your class today is not combat oriented."

"Except for the mountain lion I had to scare off."

"Except for that," M'gann amended.

"She's right, Kaldur," Jason added, setting down three plates of fresh pasta onto the counter. "The HSR wouldn't have been a right fit for the class you were trying to teach today. I know you wanted to do something more exotic like a rainforest—"

"—coming from the man who wanted me to do a desert," Kaldur deadpanned.

Jason ignored him. "—But it's better to start them off small instead of throwing them in the deep end." He paused. "Plus, the HSR can't mimic food or anything like that so doing a survival exercise in there wouldn't work anyway. Better to wait until the teleporters are back on so we can send them to an _actual_ rainforest."

"Speaking of the teleporters," M'gann hummed, "why aren't we giving them access to Zeta technology yet? I miss having access to a Zeta Tube. I mean sure, teleporters are more versatile, but Zeta Tubes are more reliable."

"I gave a copy of the plans to B, but he said he wanted to make sure the Zeta Tubes couldn't be hacked before he considered widespread implementation."

There was a pause. "But Tim — _our_ Tim — already took care of that," Kaldur replied slowly.

Jason shrugged, his focus intent on seasoning the plates. "I told him that. But you know how he is."

His friends exchanged looks. "We do," M'gann confirmed. "Which is why we're so surprised you two are getting along so well."

The seasoning stopped. "What is that supposed to mean?" Jason demanded.

Kaldur sighed. "Jason, you know exactly what we mean."

"He hasn't done it, _any_ of it, and the way things are going, he never will," Jason stated firmly. "I don't see why this should even be an issue. It's been decades. We've moved on — _I've_ moved on."

"We know, Jason," M'gann answered soothingly. "We're just… _concerned_."

"Well, don't be. This generation is better than it's ever been. I don't see why we should be digging up old ghosts when all it will do is just disrupt our progress."

"Maybe not your old ghosts," Kaldur conceded, "But what about Wallace's? You know, he hasn't told his family about Flashpoint yet."

This time, it was Jason's turn to sigh. "I know. And I can understand why he's reluctant, especially since Barry is still dead right now. Never speak ill of the dead and all that. But they still need to be prepared." He began passing the plates around. "I checked the records. Nora Allen was 'murdered' by her husband in this timeline."

Kaldur groaned. "Which means _when_ Barry comes back, because we all know he will if only so Savage can fuck with us more—"

"Here, here," Jason and M'gann chorused.

"—he might try to go back in time and, well, save her. And probably screw all us over again in the meantime. And because the Flashes don't know they can't screw with time like that anymore…"

"Yeah. We need to lean in on Wallace for that. Maybe I can bribe him with my triple quadruple fudge nougat cheesecake…"

M'gann scoffed. "Why is it that he gets to have your most sugary recipes while you're always on me for my chocos?"

"Easy," Jason deadpanned. "One, he's a speedster. Two, he's not an addict. Three, cheesecake isn't a drug for him like chocos are for you."

"I am _not_ an addict!" M'gann fumed, slamming her fork onto a table. "I can stop any time I want!"

"Spoken like a true addict," Kaldur noted. Jason nodded in agreement.

M'gann pouted.

* * *

"So, we get no tents." Cassie sighed as she threw herself to the ground. "Yay us."

Courtney rifled through her own back pack and took out a sloppy-looking cylinder-like object. "No tents, but we do get sleeping bags. That's something, at least."

"C'mon, guys! We just have to survive the night," Bart pointed out, spinning on his heel. Without access to his super speed, his speech was much slower, if still a little quick. "Then they'll pick us up tomorrow and we can spend the rest of the day in our nice, comfy beds."

"And then spend Wednesday doing whatever the hell they have planned for us," Cissie pointed out, going ahead to sit next to Cassie.

It was night time, hours after Kaldur had left them to fend for themselves. They had been instructed to keep on going up the mountain until the sun set, and to settle down in the general area of wherever they managed to reach. As per his instructions, they had also marked whatever trees they managed to pass by, just in case they needed to return somewhere they already passed by.

"Considering how the last couple of days have been for us," Cissie continued, "it's probably going to be insanely hard, hardly sane, and leave our heads hurting and our bodies breaking."

Tim nodded absentmindedly, sitting cross-legged on the ground as his sister played an impromptu game of tag with Greta. They had taken their backpacks off and had dumped them next to him, inadvertently giving Tim a place to lean his back against as he got to thinking. "Don't you think it's weird?"

Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him. "What's weird?" Bart asked, tilting his head.

"How obsessed they are with training us?"

Cassie sat up, and shrugged. "Maybe a little. But Tim, you have to remember, a lot of them…a lot of them watched us d-die." It still hurt to think about, if a little strange. Cassie always knew being a superhero was going to be dangerous, but only the last few weeks had really hammered it in.

"Yeah, but Cassie, those of us here that died in their universe or whatever — they died as _adults_ ," Tim reminded her. Looks of realization began to dawn on the faces of his friends. "They probably didn't know everything we're going to learn in the next couple of months, but they sure as hell knew way, _way_ more than we do right now. And if they died as adults, I don't get how having us learn more stuff when we're younger is going to save us." He shrugged. "I doubt there's much more they could teach us now that would make our lives anymore easier."

"There's still Savage, though," Bart pointed out, though there was a lot of reluctance and unsurety in his tone.

"There is," Tim conceded. "And maybe the training they'll give us _will_ prevent our deaths in the future or whatever. But…I just don't know. I can't help but feel that there's more to this than just preparing us. Like, there's some deeper reasoning to all this."

"You mean, like a conspiracy?" Cissie asked, glancing at her friend.

Tim shrugged again. "Maybe. Look. I love Jason. I've looked up to him for years, even before I got to meet him for real. He looked at me and considered me a part of his family without a second thought. He was there for me when my dad died. He's done nothing but teach me, care for me, protect me."

"But while he's told me the broad details of his past with me, I'm beginning to realize I don't really know anything of what happened to him after. All the years he spent as Batman, as a member of the Justice League — they're all spoken in general terms. I mean, yeah, he's parting more stuff now, but…" Tim sighed. "He's holding back. They all are. You see it too, right?"

There was another round of looks, and then a cough from Bart. "You know that comment Kon made? About how Wallace wasn't supposed to exist yet in this timeline?"

"Yeah," Greta said, scowling. "That was weird. And to be honest, I thought it was kind of mean. Especially since they didn't explain what they meant by that."

"Yeah, well, I think I know what they meant. Or at least an idea." The speedster looked around, keeping an eye out. Even if they were out in the woods, there were _ways_ for people to overhear. While it's unlikely their teachers were keeping _that_ close an eye on them, it never hurt to be careful. "See, Saturday night, after we all went to sleep, I started feeling hungry—"

"Seriously, Bart?" Cissie interjected, not sounding very impressed.

"I'm a growing speedster!" Bart quickly defended himself. "I can't help it! Ask Wally or Wallace or any other speedster, they'll tell you the same thing!"

"Guys," Tim hedged.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I was starting to feel hungry so I went downstairs to the kitchen to find something to eat. But before I got there, I heard this conversation Wallace was having with your brother, and with Donna. Something about Grandpa Barry and something called Flashpoint."

"'Flashpoint'?" Greta tasted the word on her mouth. "What's a 'Flashpoint'?"

Bart shrugged. "I don't know. All I know is that it was something big, and that Jason and Donna wanted Wallace to tell at least me and Wally and Jay soon. The way they were talking about it, it seemed like they didn't think any of us were going to like it. That it was…bad."

"But why would your grandfather have anything to do with it?" Cassie questioned, looking skeptical. "He's been dead for years."

"I don't know. Maybe he did something before he died that we had to deal with later on?" Bart suggested.

"Or maybe he came back."

Everyone stared at Cass. She shrugged. "Jason came back," she pointed out.

Tim tapped his chin. "She's right. Jason did come back. So did Kon, according to the man himself."

"Donna died once too," Cassie noted. "She told me that she did. Said she was revived by the surviving Titans of Greek Mythology, though she didn't go into a lot of detail."

"And even before all that, _Superman_ died and came back. So did Wonder Woman," Tim narrowed his eyes. "There's a precedent for people coming back to life. It wouldn't be wrong to assume that someone brought back Barry Allen at some point. And, if Bart's words are right, Barry had something to do with whatever this Flashpoint thing is. And it had to do with why Wallace isn't supposed to 'exist' yet."

"So, what? Are you trying to say that Barry Allen _created_ Wallace for some reason?" Cissie rubbed the back of her head. "Why would that be a problem? I mean sure, it's weird, but…"

"No. I don't think that's it." Tim tapped his chin. "I think that whatever Barry did, Wallace was a side effect of that. And that whatever it was, it _wasn't_ a good thing, and that Wallace was one of the only good bits about it. Why else would they be so reluctant to talk about it?"

"If that's the case, shouldn't we tell our mentors? You know, the ones that didn't time travel?" Courtney piped up. She had remained quiet for most of the discussion, because while she was gradually becoming closer to everyone here, it wasn't quite to the point that she could just jump into their running train of thought whenever.

"With what proof?" Tim rebutted. "Right now, all this is a theory based on some hearsay. Maybe they'll take us seriously, maybe not, but they can't really do anything about it except confront Wallace with it, and he could easily talk his way out of it if he wanted to. After all, they've been steamrolling us over since they've got here, and not a single one of us has been able to muster up a sufficient counterargument."

"Why is that, by the way?" Courtney asked, crossing her arms. "They give us all this information, they teach us, but they don't let us act on our own. At least not for the stuff they give us. It's like they don't trust us."

Tim stared at her for a moment, before closing his eyes. "I don't think it's _us_ they don't trust."

Everyone frowned. "What do you mean by that, Tim?" Cassie demanded.

Tim didn't answer. He just turned away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People are putting the pieces together, and the kids have gotten closer to understanding Era 2 than the adults have. But then again, they _have_ been spending more time with them the adults have.
> 
> Next chapter: The field trip.


	30. Bludhaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their night on the mountains, the students return to rest and prepare for their final task before they can enjoy their vacation for real.

Kaldur hummed a merry tune as he followed the line of marked trees, a tracker in one hand. He had checked over the tracker before he left, and he could already see movement from the group. They were all alive, all awake. Good.

When he started approaching the clearing where they had set up camp, he couldn't help but smile approvingly. They had followed his advice admirably. Traps set around the campsite, the campfire sufficiently snuffed out and watered, a lookout — Greta, for the latest shift apparently — to keep watch…it was good, for beginners. Once they returned to Catskills and were fed and rested, he would do a review of how they did, and where they could improve. No need to do it now, after an entire night of 'roughing' it in the mountains.

He couldn't help but snort a little inside. They had no idea of what was coming next. Kaldur was going to have a _lot_ of fun when the JLA got the teleporters working again…

* * *

Greta, droopy-eyed but still awake, perked up when she heard the sounds of one of the camp's traps being triggered. She got up, picking up the hunting knife that had been gifted to her in her pack as an impromptu weapon. Quietly, she moved forward to approach Cissie, the person sleeping closest to her, to try and wake her for some backup.

"Greta," a voice called out, and her head snapped up. Her shoulders relaxed when she saw who it was: Kaldur.

Just to give confirmation it was him, he held up one of his water bearers, which formed a liquid sword. She relaxed even more at that, and approached him. Whispering quietly, he ordered her to wake everyone up while he disarmed the traps. After that, they would cleanup the camp and make their way back to Catskills, where a warm meal and some beds were waiting for them.

Greta followed his instructions eagerly, while Kaldur gently roused each of her friends awake. The entire process took about fifteen minutes, and the next forty-five were spent packing everything and dismantling the campsite. Once they were done, Kaldur guided them all away back to the base at a sedate pace. They were only just beginning to wake up, after all.

The moment they made it back to Catskills, Kaldur ordered them to change out of their survival gear and into whatever clothing they wanted, reminding them they would be allowed to sleep in their rooms after they finished lunch. The gear, meanwhile, they were allowed to keep, as their next session with him would likely require different tools and have different parameters. Most of them came back down in their pajamas as a result.

The meal waiting for them was not what they expected.

"Pizza?" Tim blinked.

It was, indeed, pizza. A lot of pizza. Of all kinds.

Jason slung his arm over his younger brother's shoulder. "Think of it as a treat for everything you've done this weekend." He paused. "It's also a bribe for the field trip you, Cass, and Cissie are coming with me on tomorrow."

"What field trip?"

His brother laughed awkwardly. "We'll talk about it later. Go ahead and dig in."

* * *

"So what's this 'field trip' we're supposed to go on tomorrow?" Cissie asked. They had just finished their post-trip review with Kaldur in the conference room, and were now speaking with Jason. M'gann flanked him on one side, while Kaldur flanked him on the other.

"Well, for one thing, you'll be splitting up," Jason explained, causing everyone to sit up. "Everyone with powers — including you, Courtney — will be going with Kon to Metropolis to meet with Superman. The rest of you will be going with me to Bludhaven to meet with Nightwing. While you're there, you're going to be learning about how to manage and watch your own cities, and the etiquette most heroes practice while operating in another hero's city. Questions?"

Cassie raised her hand first. "How long is this trip going to be?"

"One day and one night," Jason answered. "We'll return to Catskills Thursday morning to pack up and pick up your stuff, and you should all be home by the afternoon to enjoy the rest of your Spring Break."

Bart was next. "Why is it we're going to Bludhaven and not to Gotham?"

Hearing that, Jason, Tim, _and_ Cass all snorted. "Because dear old Dad is _way_ too territorial to let even _one_ hero outside of the family into Gotham without some urgent business at hand." Jason shrugged. "Plus, Gotham isn't ideal for this kind of trip — contrary to popular belief, Gotham is actually something of an outlier when compared to other cities under a hero's guardianship. The sheer amount of emotionally unstable and insane supervillains is rather atypical for what the standard vigilante has to deal with. Bludhaven is closer to the general standard, even it's on a larger scale."

"Okay then," Cissie crossed her arms, "what now?"

Jason smiled. "Now, you lot get the rest of the day off. Explore the compound, do what you want. If you have any questions, ask either Kaldur or M'gann. As for me…"

"…he's got a date."

Everyone looked up to see Donna leaning against the entranceway, a smile on her face. Jason gave everyone a cheeky wave before turning to leave. He _did_ have a date, after all.

* * *

Finagling the travel arrangements for Bludhaven took a little work. For the ones going with Kon, it was easy, since they'd be doing their session with Clark during the day. Everyone else, meanwhile, would be doing their session at night with Nightwing. After some debate, it was decide that the Kon's group would go ahead to Metropolis first, while everyone else stayed and slept in. Then, after they were settled in at Metropolis and night fell, Jason's group (in-costume) would use the Super-Cycle to fly over to Bludhaven and stash it somewhere before heading over to meet up with Nightwing.

After Kon left with his group, Jason decided to give a general overview of Bludhaven to his own group, if only for Cissie's sake, since this would be her first time there. For all its corruption, Bludhaven (as Jason explained it) had a thriving tourist industry due to its close proximity to Atlantic City, the East Coast's own Las Vegas. Famed for its casinos, resorts and other attractions, Atlantic City was the go-to destination for gamblers and those desiring a more… _licentious_ sort of vacation. However, much like Las Vegas, Atlantic City could be very pricey — which is where Bludhaven came in.

On top of having its own casinos and resorts, Bludhaven had relatively cheaper hotels. This allowed tourists to enjoy the decadence of Atlantic City whenever they wished, and when they were done, they could cross over the bridge to the cheaper amenities of Bludhaven. _However_ , there was still a risk; the reason why Bludhaven's amenities were so much cheaper is because the rampant crime and corruption in the city made it dangerous to stay in, especially for outsiders. So, while the tourist industry in Bludhaven was still thriving, it was only for those tourists on the lower end of the socioeconomic strata, as they were the only ones willing to take the risk.

Nightwing's arrival to the city about two years or so ago had mitigated that risk tremendously, especially in the last year. The presence of a well-known vigilante/superhero, the current leader of the Titans and the premier protege of Batman, had brought down the crime rate significantly. That decrease had only accelerated when Nightwing started targeting the operations of the local crime boss, Blockbuster. With Blockbuster's own hold over the city loosening, all Dick would have to do is clean out the police force, and Bludhaven would be able to shake off its shoddy reputation, especially if a wealthy patron started promoting charity works and other progressive causes in the wake of Blockbuster's downfall.

(Something Jason was sure Bruce would be happy to do if it meant Dick would move back home. He needed to mention that to his father the next time he went to Gotham. Hopefully Dick wouldn't hate him _too_ much for it.)

* * *

The moment the nightfall hit, Jason, Tim, Cass, and Cissie, all suited up and fully-armed, took the Super-Cycle to Bludhaven. They parked it in a more distant part of the city, hiding it in a nearby safehouse that Dick had designated for their use. After that, they changed into their civvies and headed off to the city proper to do a quick tour of the place while waiting for Dick to get off work.

Around 8:00 p.m., when it started really getting dark, they headed over to Dick's apartment building and buzzed him. About a minute or two later, he was downstairs, opening the door with a smile. "Little brother and sister. Their friend. And…" Jason gave him a _look_ , "their bodyguard! Welcome!"

Jason rolled his eyes, but nonetheless gave an approving nod. Dick guided them up the stairs to his apartment and let them inside. Once they were all in, he closed the door, locked it and turned around. "So? How was your trip? Was it good?"

The kids shrugged, while Jason gave another short nod. "Great!" Dick said, clapping his hands. Then he gave Jason a look. "How is this going to work?"

Instead of answering, Jason brought out a white noise machine ("Seriously, Jay? You're just like B.") and put it on top of the nearby kitchen table. "We're going to be tailing you on patrol," Jason explained once the machine was on. "Normally, we wouldn't do this and instead just disperse into teams and keep contact via comms, but this is a learning experience and Dick is going to be answering any question you might have. Better just to be in one big group for tonight. First, though, some questions."

He glanced at the teenagers. "If we get into a fight, who should you listen to? Dick, or myself?"

The three looked at each other in silent deliberation. "Dick," Tim answered a moment later.

Jason hummed. "Yes…and no," he corrected. "While yes, usually you would listen to Dick like you will be tonight, since this is his city. He knows the streets, the people, the criminals — everything. However, there are certain situations where I would take charge; like, say, a major villain from out-of-town that he isn't familiar with but I am."

"This is standard etiquette whenever you visit another hero's city. When you do that, you defer to the local hero. However, if it's your villain you are dealing with, then _you_ need to take point, or at the very least take more initiative than you normally would." Jason crossed his arms. "Generally, when it comes to 'superhero jurisdiction', it boils down to expertise: who knows what more. While I'm a more experienced vigilante than Dick, Dick knows Bludhaven and its criminals and their dynamics far better than I do. So, unless something extraordinary comes up, I will defer to Dick like all of you."

"Now, here's my second question: why is that I brought you to Bludhaven and not Kon's group?"

"Escalation," Cass answered without thinking.

Jason nodded. "Correct. While 'normal' superheroes have many disadvantages compared to 'powered' heroes, if there's one advantage we do have, it's that villains tend to underestimate us. Top tier-villains like Luthor and Circe don't pay attention to us because they consider us to be 'beneath' them. That's what allows us to aid other heroes without fear of escalation from the opposing side, and what allows us to guard our cities without the fear of some kind of escalation beyond a certain level as long we shun outside help from the likes of Superman. The exception to this is, of course, Gotham, but that's another issue entirely that we won't be getting into."

He jabbed a thumb towards his older brother. "This is why Dick has had few issues targeting Blockbuster's operations, despite having done so much damage in the last several months. Blockbuster only has so much money, and can't hope to bring in higher-caliber forces without more because many of these forces view Dick as 'beneath' them. Some even still see him as Batman's sidekick — no offense, N — and even the prestige of being the leader of the Titans hasn't changed that, as the Titans team doesn't operate in Bludhaven at all unless absolutely necessary. Because of this, lowering themselves to taking Dick out would be considered a 'blow' to their credibility." Jason shrugged. "It's ridiculous, of course. I know few heroes that could ever compare to our older brother, but it is what it is and we would be remiss not to take advantage of it. Now, do you have any questions of your own?"

Slowly, he got three shaking heads.

"Okay. All the rest of the teaching will be in the field. First we're going to have dinner," Jason narrowed his eyes when he saw Dick cringe away and made a note to check the fridge himself first, "then we'll suit up and go on patrol. Is that fine with all of you?"

Nods now.

"Great." Jason turned around to glare at Dick. "Please tell me you have real food in there."

Dick shrugged and smiled. "I went on a grocery run before you guys got here?"

"And _before_ the grocery run?"

Dick's smile shifted just _so_.

"…God, what are we gonna do with you Dickie?"

* * *

"You know, you're _really_ good at this teaching thing," Dick commented. Dinner had finished and the kids were suiting up, Tim in Dick's bathroom and the girls in the apartment next door that Dick used for his own vigilante operation. Jason and Dick had gotten Dick's own apartment to change in, and it had been quick a fix — Dick just slipped into his suit, while Jason's weaved over his.

Jasons shrugged. "Had lots of practice. And, well," he dipped his head, and even though his face was hidden by a helmet, Dick was treated to the sight of his younger brother looking _bashful_ , "this is the part of the job I enjoy the most."

Dick hummed. "Tell me something. How did this…'training system' come to be?"

"Oh!" Jason sounded embarrassed. "Funny story — it was kind of the fault of us Bats. You know how pretty much everyone gets their hand-to-hand combat training from us, or through us?"

"Yeah. I guess that was the starting point?"

"That and the succession exams I implemented during my time as Batman. See, I was helping one of the newer Lanterns with their technique, and Cass made this comment to me about how we could expand our teachings to all heroes formally. That led to this in-depth discussion between us about implementing a system, and then I brought up to Kon and Donna, and then the others on the council and it just spiraled from there." Jason shrugged again. "You know, like how it usually happens."

Dick nodded slowly. "Why did you guys become so interested in the next generation? I mean, Bruce always took a vested interest in our training, but other heroes…"

Now Jason looked hesitant — or as hesitant as you could look with a helmet on your head. Dick, being Dick, noticed immediately. "Oh. Well, if you don't want to talk abou—"

"We called it the Dead Decade."

Dick stopped, and stared.

"Though really, it was a decade and a half, but you know how much more catchier alliteration can be." The joke fell flat, though it was obvious that Jason's heart wasn't really in it to begin with. "Most say it began with Roy's death and ended with Clark's fifteen years later. During that time…so many heroes died, Dick. So many. And it had a huge influence on Era 2 — no matter the differences the heroes of our time had, they all agreed on one thing: they never wanted something like the Dead Decade to happen again."

He leaned against Dick's couch, his demeanour, speculative. "If there's anything the Dead Decade helped us realize — taught us, really — is that we weren't going to be around forever. That none of us were. And if that was the case, then the next generation needed to be our top priority." He inhaled a shuddering breath. "But we knew early on that if this system was going to happen, it couldn't be exclusive to students who already had mentors teaching them. Despite our _heavy_ discouragement, there were still some freelance younger heroes running around. They went under whatever mentoring when they could, but there was only so much."

"But with your training system, you could bring in those younger freelance heroes under your umbrella and supplement their tutelage," Dick said slowly, a light dawning in his eyes.

"Yes. We could organize lessons around schedules, allow younger heroes to meet and interact more regularly, bind them all together more strongly and develop their teamwork better. We could swap teachings, bring them up to a higher general standard." Jason sighed. "We could increase the success heroes had in saving lives — including their own."

"And it worked," Dick noted.

"It did," Jason concurred. "It wasn't perfect, obviously. We were always finding different ways to improve it, and I doubt that changed after any of us died — I know for a fact it didn't after Kon did — but… it worked." Dick could feel the smile beneath his helmet. "My oldest son, Terry — he was the first one to go through all three levels of the system. Carrie was already a full-fledged adult hero when we implemented it and Helena was almost done with her own training. Terry was the only one young enough to start from the very bottom. And the system trained him so well that he managed to complete the Batman Succession exam at seventeen, almost eighteen — four years younger than Damian would have done it."

"Make no mistake, Terry was talented. _So_ talented. But he hadn't been trained since birth like Damian. And for him to manage that…" Jason let out a small laugh. "It made me so proud. The proudest I've ever been. Maybe even the proudest I'll ever be."

Dick didn't say anything.

"I want to do the same for Tim and Cass. For Stephanie, when she joins them. For Damian and Jon and Lian, because we're all fools if we think we're going to keep them out of this when they think they're old enough to do this. I want them to have all the benefits of a strong support system." Jason crossed his arms. "I don't want them to be killed just because they didn't know something I or someone I knew could've taught them if they had just spared just a little free time."

"I know that feeling," Dick commented. Neither acknowledged the implication that it had to do with what happened to Jason himself. Instead, he said, "Is there any way I might be able to take part? You know, besides this 'field trip' you're having me do."

Jason shrugged. "We were hoping to incorporate the Titans of this time into the system eventually, like we did with the Titans of ours." At Dick's questioning and imploring look, he elaborated. "See, when we first designed the system it was divided into three different levels, each with a minimum age to join, or be promoted to. As part of our teachings included field experience, each of these levels were also nicknamed by their associated teams. Level 1 was Young Justice, Level 2 was Teen Titans, and Level 3," and here, he stared directly looked at his brother's face, "was Titans. And part of the curriculum for the Titans was teaching classes to the lower levels."

Dick nodded in understanding. "When we teach, we learn."

"Yes. So yeah, if you want to be a part of this, we'll bring you in." Jason tilted his head. "Of course, it'll probably be best to save it for the summer, where we can do a full camp."

"We're doing a full camp?"

The two brothers turned around to see their younger brother exiting the bathroom and staring up at both of them with wide eyes beneath his domino mask. "For the summer," Jason answered. "Not the entire summer, obviously, there's going to be a break in-between sessions, but yes, we're planning a summer camp for all of you."

"Will Bruce be alright with that?" Tim sounded unsure. "I mean, he's already giving up a lot by letting us go on the weekends."

"He'll be fine with it. He has the Birds for back up and he'll be grateful that you're getting more training. And if he needs more help, he can call one of us." Jason pointed to both Dick and himself. "We're not going to be teaching everyday, after all."

"Right," Tim responded, still sounding _very_ unsure.

* * *

After the girls had suited up, they left Dick's apartment to start on patrol. He had them do a quick run through the city before starting the patrol in earnest, systematically going from block to block and stopping any crime they spotted. It started off small, with a few muggings and an attempted rape, before escalating up to a gang fight.

As per Jason's words, they followed Dick's lead. During the gang fight, he was the one directing traffic, including separating gang members and instructing how to tie them up to ensure the police could properly secure them when they came. He also took point in contacting the police, telling them to stay out of sight — Bludhaven was nowhere near as superhero/vigilante-friendly as other cities were. Certainly not like Gotham in that aspect.

About three hours into patrol, as they begin nearing the time when Dick would turn in normally, the man in question started diverging from the pattern and towards a specific address. "One of the reasons why I allowed K to bring you tonight," the first Nightwing started, using Jason's alternate callsign, "was because I was planning something. A drug bust on one of Blockbuster's major operations."

"Ah," Cissie said dryly. "You wanted free backup."

"Yup," Dick responded cheerfully, not even bothering to deny it. "As Knight said, I've been hitting Blockbuster's operations hard, and while things haven't escalated _too_ much, he's still been packing some heavy firepower lately. I figured I could handle it on my own, but a little help never hurt."

"And you're fine with this?" Tim glanced at his other brother.

Jason shrugged. "This is supposed to be a learning experience, and I trust Nightwing. Besides, it's only a drug bust."

* * *

"Here it is," Dick whispered as he landed on the rooftop with a graceful leap. The rest of the group soon landed behind him, clustering around to view their new target.

They were in one of the more ramshack districts of Bludhaven, well away from the glistening casinos and resorts that kept the city from falling into _complete_ dereliction. Blockbuster was smart enough to have some legal streams of revenue by investing into Bludhaven's primary industry, and was also smart enough to recognize that those interests were more viable and longer-lasting then his current, illegal ones. It wasn't enough to get him out of the crime game for good (greed was one hell of a drug), but it _was_ enough make him careful in keeping his more illicit and _violent_ activities away from the city's golden goose.

That was made all the more tenable with Nightwing's arrival to the city and subsequent targeting of his operations. While Blockbuster knew that he could easily hamstring Nightwing's attempts to take him down by using the lives of innocents as shields, his own vested self-interest sabotaged him and prevented him from making such a move. At least, not often.

Hence, here the five vigilantes were — in one of the dilapidated districts of Bludhaven, ready to take down one of Roland Desmond's biggest drug operations.

"Alright, so I've been casing the place for a few weeks. A quart of sentries circle the entire building approximately eight times every hour, before changing guard and starting all over again. A single round takes about eight minutes," Dick started as he gestured to the building. There was dim light coming from the windows — nothing eye-raising, nor surprising, coming from a warehouse in the middle of an abandoned district. Which was probably the point. Dick had made a great amount of progress in the last year, but this city was _still_ Bludhaven.

"How many suspected personnel?" Jason asked, crouching down and watching the warehouse closely.

"O and I estimated around thirty to thirty-five, not counting the sentries. So about forty people in total." Dick shrugged. "Like I said — big operation."

"Right," Jason glanced at him. "How do you want to do this?"

"Well, logic dictates we jump in at the changing of the guard, but I was thinking that we do it in the middle of the hour, during one of the crossing points. They'll probably be expecting me to jump in during that small opening, but since we have more people—"

"Wait."

Cissie frowned, turing to look at Cass. Even with her mask covering her entire face, she could sense that her friend was watching the warehouse intently. "What is it, Batgirl?"

"Guards, yes?"

The archer exchanged a look with Tim. "Yeah, there are guards. Why?"

Cass gestured to the warehouse. "No guards."

Everyone stared at her, before glancing at the warehouse. Tim narrowed his eyes after a few minutes passed. "She's right. According to your intel, a full circumnavigation of the building should only take about eight or so minutes. But it's been five, and we haven't seen a single guard walking around the building."

"You said this is one of Blockbuster's biggest ops," Cissie pointed out to Dick. "There's no way he wouldn't have a guard rotation around this place, especially with you running around."

"Police?" Cass suggested.

Dick shook his head. "Can't be. I've done my best, but there's still plent of cops in the BPD still on the take. Desmond wouldn't shy away from that, especially in this neighborhood."

"Well either way, there's _something_ wrong with this scene." The lens of Jason's helmet flashed. "With your permission?"

His older brother made a silent gesture. _Go ahead_.

Jason nodded, and the lens turned crimson before he settled his gaze on the warehouse for a few minutes. He was silent, and it was only the slight tensing of his shoulders and the straightening of his back that indicated that something was wrong. "K?" Dick ventured slowly.

"There's a bunch of heat signatures in there, but…"

"But?"

"The signatures are stationary…and they're dimming. They were already pretty dim when I turned on the infrared, and they're getting dimmer by the minute. Like a flame about to blow out."

Tim stepped forward to the ledge of the building, next to Jason, to glare harder at the warehouse. "Are you sure? It's not fluctuating?"

"Nope. Whatever heat is in there, it's definitely decreasing."

Cissie crossed her arms. "What does that mean? How can heat signatures dim?"

"Easy. Whatever is giving off the heat is beginning to cool."

"But how can bodies—" She stopped, her eyes wide.

"Corpses," Dick cursed.

Jason nodded. "Definitely. I've seen something like this before, and I'd bet my entire trust fund there's not a single living person in that building."

* * *

After some debate, it was quickly decided that Jason would be the one to go down. With his suit's enhancements, if the entire thing was a trap he would have the best chance of getting out — or, failing that, had the best shot of taking a hit and surviving. After doing some more scans with his HUD and a quick casing of the surroundings, he dropped down to the streets, careful to keep his approach slow, careful, and silent.

The moment he made it to the doors, however, he quickly picked the lock and opened them. He stepped inside…and stopped.

Dick frowned, and activated his comm. "Something wrong, Knight?"

" _Yes. Nightwing, order the kids to stay on the roof. But you need to come down here_ _ **now**_."

That was not a good sign. "K. What's wrong?"

" _…It's better that you see for yourself._ "

No, not a good sign. After making a quick order to the younger members of the team to stay on the roof, Dick flipped down the fire escape and to the ground. He made a quick jog to the building, his brother's dark form getting larger by the minute. He made it the building and—

" _By God,_ " Dick muttered in Romani, his eyes wide at the sight that greeted him.

Dead. Dead, dead, _dead_. Dick had seen _terrible_ things since he had first started running around in pixie boots at nine years old, especially since his hometown was Gotham. With the likes of the Joker and Scarecrow, it was inevitable. Whenever rogues of that caliber escaped Arkham, they were lucky if they only found a _few_ bodies.

This? This looked like something out of their playbook. There were bodies _everywhere_ , all of them leeching out red. The blood was drying, but that didn't detract from the horror of the scene. Especially the ones that had been nailed to each of the walls. Every body there had been disemboweled, their guts hanging outside the cuts and left to rot.

Dick couldn't take anymore. He quickly turned away from the scene, putting one hand on one of the doors and holding his stomach, trying to keep the dinner that his younger brother painstakingly made for him in. When Jason's gloved hand presented him a large brown bag, Dick took it gratefully and let nature take its course.

When he was done, Jason took the bag and tied it up. Then he took out both his sticks, merged them into their single sword configuration, turned on the flames, and incinerated it. "Can't leave any DNA around," he explained.

"Right." Dick swallowed. "Right. Thank you."

His brother gave him a few comforting pats on the back. "It never gets any easier, does it?"

"No. No it doesn't."

Jason remained silent for a moment. "You know, I did some terrible things as the Red Hood. Horrible things. Things just like what we just saw. And it was easy when all I was seeing was green. But then the green started going away. And one day, when the green hadn't bothered me at all…it finally hit me. All those terrible things I did."

Dick gripped the door tighter. "…And?"

"Threw up breakfast, dinner, and probably yesterday's lunch too. Didn't eat anything for days. I'm pretty sure it was you who forced water down my gullet, and the food after." Jason sighed. "I was not a good person back then, N. Maybe I was in my heart of hearts, but I certainly wasn't acting like it. But let me say this — whoever did whatever that is in that warehouse? They're brutal even by my standards."

Well. Wasn't that a comforting thought. "We need to go back. It's a crime scene—"

"I know. I already had it scanned by a small drone in my suit. We'll be able to recreate the entire crime scene holographically down at the Cave." The third Batman shrugged. "I'm sorry if I overstepped but…future tech."

"Useful. And don't worry, you didn't." Dick exhaled. "I don't know how we're supposed to go back in there."

"All that's left is collecting samples, and then we can ditch this place entirely and leave it for the BPD to deal with."

"And the kids?"

Jason fell silent again.

"K…we can't protect them from this. I mean, we can have them play look out, but then it'll take the two of us hours to collect all the samples we need and—" Dick stopped himself, sighing again.

"…I know." Jason inhaled deeply. "I know. I'll warn them."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, things are ramping up again! What does this all mean?
> 
> You're going to find out soon enough.
> 
> Next chapter: The crime scene.


	31. The Worst Field Trip Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding their field trip making an unexpected detour, Tim, Cass, and Cissie face the harsher realities of vigilantism.

Jason had warned them. Extensively. Telling them that if they didn't want to go inside and see, that if they didn't want to help, they didn't have to.

They should've have listened to him.

* * *

Cissie dry-heaved as she retched the rest of her dinner — and it had been such a good dinner too! — into the bag Jason had provided her. The moment she was done, she tied it up and handed it to the man in question. Jason gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder before walking away to burn it, along with Tim and Cass' bags as well. They couldn't afford to leave their own DNA evidence at the crime scene, after all.

God.

"When my dad died, I was pissed," Tim said conversationally as he stood next to her, staring off into the street with a far-off gaze. He wasn't really talk to her, really. He was just…talking. "I was sad, of course. But I was pissed. Because he was murdered, by one of the worst human beings on the planet. When that hit me, when that _finally_ hit me, I was the angriest I had ever been. And I did something stupid and nearly got myself killed."

Cissie bit her lip, and stood up. Her eyes were still on the ground.

"I didn't realize how lucky he was," Tim continued, his tone blunt. "I've seen all sorts of crimes, reviewed even more when I first started training to be Robin, but that? What's inside that warehouse? That was just…God, that was just _sick_. At least my dad died quick. From the looks of those bodies, nobody who died in there got that privilege."

Next to him, Cass let out a small whimper. From what Cissie knew of her background, it was no wonder she was taking this the hardest. Death had never been kind to her. Not when it came to this.

"…I don't want to do this, T-Robin, Batgirl," Cissie finally said. "I don't want to go back in there and see those bodies or do anything of that. I…I don't want to do _this_ anymore."

"Arrowette—"

"Your brother…your brother and K-Superboy, they revealed to me that I was originally suppose to retire on my own a couple of months ago. An incident with a counselor my school. But they prevented the incident, so I'm still here. But…I'll be honest, I haven't really been feeling the superhero thing for a while, if I really ever did. You guys are great, I love you all, but becoming Arrowette — that was always my mom's decision. Not mine. And now…" Cissie's head fell, and landed in the palm of her hand.

Tim swallowed. "It's like he said. You don't have to go in. You can just stay out here. Keep watch. Both of you."

"And you?" Cass asked before Cissie could.

The sole male of their group swallowed. "…I can handle it. I'm a detective too. And I don't want us to stay any longer than we have to."

* * *

Once all the barf bags were burned, Arrowette and Batgirl went to the roof to keep lookout while the men went inside and started investigating the crime scene. The lights were on, but dim, and Jason quickly increased the brightness so they had a better idea of what they were dealing with. Now that they had prepared themselves, the massacre didn't nauseate them _too_ much.

In fact, the moment Dick finally got a good look of the bodies that had been nailed to the walls, he began frowning. Heavily. "Shit," he cursed.

"N?" Jason asked, glancing at him questioningly.

"Everyone on the wall, I recognize. They're all major enforcers of Blockbuster's organization," Dick explained, examining one of the bodies more closely. "Shakers and movers, trustworthy underlings, informants — the people that make up the infrastructure of his crumbling empire."

"And cops too." The two men turned around to see Tim staring at the wall of bodies on the other side. Bodies, they were beginning to realize, were wearing BPD uniforms. "Judging by that wall, I assume these guys were all on the take. Specifically, Blockbuster's take."

Dick approached the wall slowly, careful not to disrupt any of the bodies on the ground. He didn't recognize any of those, they were probably just the grunts, but the ones on the wall, however… "Yeah, they are. One of these guys works—worked, at my precinct. I knew he was dirty, so I tried to avoid talking to him when I could."

"Right," Jason said, stretching his arms and taking out one of his collection kits. "Well, we better start collecting…" He absentmindedly glanced to the side, and froze.

His brothers noticed immediately. "K?" Nightwing hedged hesitantly.

Jason immediately sat up, collection kit still in one hand, and start stepping through the bodies carefully, but quickly. Both Dick and Tim's gazes followed him to the back of the warehouse, where a stack of boxes were obscuring the back wall. Jason parted them quickly, and stepped through the opening.

"Nightwing! Robin!" He shouted about a minute later. "You need to see this!"

The brothers exchanged grim looks. _What is it now?_

Then they got there, and, well… "Fuck," Tim summed it up succinctly.

The back wall only had one body mounted on it. A very, _very_ large, muscular man with long hair, wearing a high-quality suit. Said suit had its sleeves nailed to the wall, causing the man wearing it to hang there like a broken marionette doll. His eyes were mutilated, his stomach cut open, and there was a message painted on his body with his blood: ' _WATCH OUT NW'_.

Roland Desmond. Blockbuster.

"K…" Dick said slowly, eyes never leaving the body.

"Biometrics indicate that he's been dead for hours. Approximately eight to ten hours to be exact. Before Arrowette, Batgirl, Robin and I even arrived to the city," Jason answered, similarly entranced.

"That's not a coincidence," Tim claimed. "Not with that message. Someone _knew_ Nightwing was going to hit this warehouse tonight."

"What the hell is going on?" Dick breathed out.

"N," Jason said, tone disturbingly neutral. "What do you want us to do?"

Dick inhaled, and then sighed deeply. "Collect all the samples you can, as quickly and as _carefully_ as possible. I want to get out of here as fast as possible, every bit as you all do, but we can't afford to leave a single stone unturned." He continued to stare at Desmond's body. "Not for this."

* * *

Cissie scanned the perimeter. After being charged with lookout, Cass and her decided to take a two-pronged approached. Cissie, with her eagle archer eyes, would handle the roof and the rooftops. Cass would be on the ground, patrolling the perimeter directly. It would allow Cissie to provide long-range support in case someone did decide to start sniffing around.

As she was continuing to circle the roof, her comm came to life. " _Arrowette, Batgirl?_ " Tim's voice came through. " _Do you read me?_ "

"I read you, Robin," Cissie replied.

" _Same_ ," Cass added.

" _Good, good. We're just about done with collecting all the samples._ " There was a sigh. " _Thank God for that._ "

Cissie didn't like the sound of that. "How bad is it?"

" _Bad. We've identified most of the bodies on the walls. They're all prominent members of Blockbuster's organization. Drug dealers, crime lords, corrupt cops, even city officials. But that's not the worst part._ " Tim blew out a breath. " _Whoever did this killed Blockbuster himself too._ "

Cass let out a small gasp. Cissie paled. "You're kidding, right?"

" _No. His mutilated body is currently mounted on the farthest wall of the warehouse, like some parody of the crucifixion. There's a message on it too, painted in his blood, telling Nightwing to 'watch out'._ "

"So this was all to send a message to Nightwing?"

" _We think so. K did a biometric analysis of the body, scanned its temperature. He's been dead since before we even arrived to the city. Whoever did this, they knew N was going to hit this warehouse tonight. Seeing as he's been casing the place for weeks for this bust…_ "

"They were watching him," Cissie instantly deduced.

" _Yeah. Moment we get back to base, we're gonna have to turn the entire place upside down for bugs._ " Tim sighed. " _What a disaster._ "

"Well, at least it isn't boring, right?"

" _I'd prefer boring to_ this _. K has already asked N if he needs any backup for the next couple of days, and has already offered himself. I'm going to do the same and probably have to apologize to Spoiler for nuking our Spring Break plans like this._ "

Cissie made a sound of sympathy. "She'll understand, Robin."

" _I hope so._ "

" _I do not get it_ ," Cass cut in. " _Why do Nightwing need help? While I do not like…Block-Buster dead, is his being gone not good thing?_ "

The archer cringed. " _Yes and no_ ," Tim answered with another sigh. " _It's not that simple, Batgirl. You know that lecture we had the other day with Flash? The one about villain dynamics? Why they're more organizations than there are teams?_ "

" _Yes,_ " Cass answered, sounding confused.

" _Do you remember the reason he gave?_ "

"Self-interest," Cissie replied before Cass could.

" _Exactly. Teams are usually made of equals, all working towards a common goal. While yes, there's usually a leader and maybe a second-in-command, everyone gets a say. Those two just have the final ones. Organizations, meanwhile, are power structures. Hierarchies. There's one overarching goal, a bunch of other goals beneath that, and then everyone else's own personal goals, which usually involve money, or power, or both. And many of those goals tend to conflict, but they're put aside because in the end, everyone on the bottom has a specific role to play and very little say in how to play it. They only get that leg room the higher up they are in the hierarchy, and only those the top have the luxury of genuine choice._ "

" _Because of that, eliminating the head of an organization doesn't immediately cause that organization to collapse. There are alway lieutenants, and those lieutenants have their own lieutenants, and so on and so forth. And when you clear out space on the top, that means there's room for you to move up and finally achieve your own goals — as long as you can elbow out your competition. That's the real cause of any organization's disintegration: the in-fighting. And when there's in-fighting, there's always casualties._ Innocent _casualties_."

" _...Oh._ "

" _Yeah. We only imagined to avoid that with the League of Assassins because K technically 'filled' the top of the hierarchy by killing Ra's and terrifying all the major shakers and movers of the organization into disbanding it, more-or-less. It helped that Talia and D, Ra's' presumptive heirs, had washed their hands of the League._ " Tim clicked his teeth. " _That's not the case here. While Blockbuster and his major lieutenants are dead, that still leaves all the grunts — the petty, minor criminals and gangs that were under his umbrella, who probably had delusions of grandeur they never tried to reach for because they didn't think there was any space at the top with a man like Blockbuster there. And now, with all that power up for grabs, we're looking at a bloodbath that could very well consume the rest of the city. There is no way Nightwing can handle that on his own."_

"Is Nightwing considering bringing in the Titans?" Cissie asked, biting her lip.

" _Maybe. He doesn't want to set a precedent, but this_ is _an unusual situation and, well, he really can't handle it on his own. On the bright side, with Blockbuster and his entire organization gutted, there shouldn't be any players left with the resources to escalate things._ " She heard her friend shrug. " _I guess it depends on what save the most lives in the long run. That's always the most important thing, in the end._ "

* * *

"Any signs of our presence has been eliminated. No DNA, no boot prints, everything is back where it used to be, down to the exact centimeter," Jason announced as everyone gathered in front of the warehouse. "It's like we were never here. As far as the police will be concerned, the crime scene is completely uncontaminated."

"Good," Dick let out a sigh of relief as they began walking back towards the other side of the street, to their original rooftop. "Thanks for that, K."

"Your city, N. I was just—" Jason stopped, and stilled, his head sharply looking upwards towards the sky.

Robin frowned and turned around. "Knight?"

" _ **GET DOWN!**_ "

Startled, everyone dropped to the ground. Jason dropped down with them, ejecting a small disk from his gauntlet and slamming onto the cold concrete. It buried itself deep inside, before expanding into a standing cylinder, which then beamed a light into the sky, forming a medium-sized forcefield to surround all five vigilantes.

Seconds later, Dick spotted a missile firing from what looked like to be the sky. It was a fast projectile, and it was heading directly for the warehouse behind them. He only had just enough time to cover his ears and warn the others to do the same before the building behind him was blown straight to hell.

_**BOOM!** _

Everyone flinched as the forcefield's integrity was tested against the splaying debris of what had once been one of the worst crime scenes any of them had ever seen. Cynically, Jason couldn't help but note that all his hard work to keep their presence there concealed had been rendered completely moot, and comforted himself with the fact that they had managed to gather all the samples and scanned the crime scene into his database. They still had plenty of evidence to investigate — provided they got to investigate it at all.

It was several minutes before Jason released the forcefield. As one, everyone turned around to stare at the flaming heap, a dawning realization of just how close to death they had been.

"Okay, no offense K, but this is the worst field trip I've ever been on," Cissie loudly proclaimed.

"Yeah, I can't fight you on that. I…" Jason sighed and shook his head. "I think we're going to suspend field trips for a while. But first…" He steeled his back before whipping his head around to stare at a specific spot in the sky. Everyone followed his lead, but found themselves confused. There was nothing there.

"Uh, Knight—?"

"There's a flying vehicle up there," Jason answered the unfinished question. "You aren't seeing it because it's under an advanced cloaking device. I can because of my helmet. So…" He flicked his gauntlet and released a batarang. A very large, _glowing_ batarang. He aimed, and threw.

The batarang sailed through the air, rotating rapidly as it ascended higher and higher before slamming into _something_. That something started flickering and smoking, until it revealed itself to be exactly what Jason said it was: a flying vehicle. One with a white and orange color scheme. It started spiraling downards, careening towards a nearby rooftop before crashing and burning, bouncing up and down before landing in its own smaller, flaming heap. Luckily, all the buildings were abandoned, so there wasn't a living soul besides the vigilantes and the pilot in the district.

Jason stared at little harder at the vehicle, and then at the pilot — a dark-skinned man in a white and orange getup — and cursed. _Shit._

The pilot dusted himself off, before approaching the ledge of the rooftop to smirk down at them. The vigilantes readied themselves for combat, drawing weapons and taking stances. Jason himself drew one of his sticks and morphed it into a sword, activating the laser edge, as he stepped forward in front of the group to confront their newest adversary.

"I take it you're the one who left the message, Raptor!?" Jason shouted at the man. The rest of the vigilantes briefly exchanged a look. _Raptor?_

'Raptor' smirked, before using some truly dazzling acrobatics to climb down the fire escape of the building he was standing on. Even Dick couldn't help but be impressed. He landed on the street, and approached them, arms spread. The more astute couldn't help but notice the strange golden gauntlet he had on his left hand.

"I take it I'm well-known in your future, _Jason Todd_?" Raptor asked, still smug.

The vigilantes tried not to react. It was easy for the Bats, but Cissie betrayed herself by adjusting the grip on her bow just so. Raptor's smirk grew wider.

"Jason Todd. Cassandra Cain. Suzanne King-Jones. Tim Drake." He stared at Dick the longest, his eyes narrowed. "Dick Grayson. It's nice to finally meet you all. I've been looking forward to this for a long time. As your brother said, my name is Raptor."

"And his real name is Richard," Jason corrected, still tense. "Last name still pending, but I guess it doesn't really matter in the end, does it?"

Raptor stared at him, before smirking again. He chuckled darkly. "The rumors about you really _are_ true, aren't they? I know I haven't been making a lot of waves, but considering your family it wasn't surprising that you knew about me. But that? That's something I never told _anyone_. I bet you even know what it means, don't you?"

"What do you want, Raptor?" Jason demanded instead of answering. "Was it you who killed Blockbuster and all his cronies? Do you have _any_ idea what you've just done?"

"I killed scum. I did you all a _favor_."

"You're going to plunge my city into a gang war!" Dick burst out furiously.

The villain gave a derisive scoff. "I'm doing you a favor, Dick. This place, this shining beacon of capitalist decadence? You're too good for it. You've always been too good for it. You shouldn't be trying to help trash like them, you should be trying to help your people! The poor and disenfranchised that are beaten down by rich oligarchs like Bruce Wayne!"

"Bruce Wayne donates millions of dollars of year to help the 'poor and disenfranchised'," Tim pointed out dryly. "He literally has an entire foundation, named after his _mother_ , devoted to bettering the lives of the impoverished of Gotham and beyond. He probably spends more time doing philanthropy than he does running his own company."

Raptor made a disdainful gesture with his hand. "All smokescreen. He's no better than scum like Blockbuster. You're all just too blinded by him being the great hero Batman to see it." He was stunned at the startled looks he received. "Please. Don't be so surprised. I know all of your identities, of course I know his. Once you know one piece of the puzzle, you know all of it."

"Enough of the commentary," Jason announced before he could continue. "Stand down, Raptor, or you'll find out just how out of your depth you are."

"Oh no, third Batman or whatever the hell you call yourself these days. It's all of _you_ that are out of your depth." Raptor grinned nastily. "Tell me, did you honestly think I was able to kill all these people by myself in a couple of hours?"

Everyone froze.

The shadows moved.

Jason's HUD lit up like a firework show.

"I'm good, but I'm not _that_ good."

All five vigilantes stared in horror as several men and women, all dressed in strange dark jump suits that covered them from head-to-toe. They all wore goggles that glowed ominously, and each carried a sharp weapon. Almost on instinct, all five fell into a circular formation, back-to-back.

Beneath his helmet, Jason paled. _**Talons**_.

"I guess I'll leave you all to it," Raptor told them mockingly, before climbing back up the fire escape. The Talons began converging on them at his silent command, drawing their weapons.

And then, they pounced.

* * *

Dick turned on the electrifying component of his escrima sticks as he readied himself to engage his nearest opponent. He didn't know who this people are, but if they were with Raptor, if they helped kill Blockbuster, then they _definitely_ weren't friends. And while he would love nothing more to chase down the bastard who had just made his next couple of months a living hell, there was no way he could make it through this entire army and catch up to him. Raptor was slippery, he'd give him that.

A dark figure darted forward, cutting Dick off at the pass. The first Robin watched in horror as the large form of his little brother grabbed the assailant by the neck and stabbed his sword directly through his chest. "Batman!" Dick yelled, instinctively using Jason's alternate name. "What are you doing! We don't kill!" Ra's al Ghul being the sole, _sole_ exception.

Tim and Cissie were also shocked and shouting their protests. Jason didn't bother to acknowledge them, instead pinning the corpse down and slitting the throat for good measure. Just as Dick was about to pull him off the man, Cass jumped over him, using his shoulders as a pivot, and kicked the head of another assailant, a woman by the looks of it, and breaking her neck.

Dick stared at her. Cass pointed at the woman she just attacked. "Not dead."

Behind him, Tim let out a gasp, as did Cissie. The woman's warped neck was slowly churning back into place, and soon she was back on her feet, only to be engaged by Cass once again.

_Boom!_

Over on the other side of the group, Jason just had just thrown and detonated a flash bang, briefly stunning the assailants on that side. The man he had stabbed and slashed the throat of was already healing and getting up. "They're called Talons," Jason explained grimly. "They're undead assassins with powerful regenerative abilities. Nothing short of decapitation or complete destruction of their bodies will kill them."

"Are you serious?" Cissie demanded as she shot one of these… 'Talons' with an arrow in the eye. The man stumbled back, before ripping it out without a care in the world.

"I am," Jason replied as he tackled the Talon before it could attack the shocked Cissie. "We need to make a path, get out of here. Right now, being completely encircled like this, we're sitting ducks and they can just chip away at us."

"Well, I'm spoiled for ideas!" Tim yelped as he slammed his staff into the stomach of one Talon as hard as he could, shattering her ribs.

"K?" Dick asked, grunting as he jammed both ends of his sticks into the neck of another Talon, turning up the voltage as high as it could go. "Your villain, your lead."

"Right." Jason clicked a button on his utility belt, and a high pitched sound suddenly echoed from the speakers of his helmet. The action briefly stopped as everyone winced at the frequency.

Then, a huge mass of bats flew in from every direction and started attacking the Talons. Quickly realizing this was the opportunity they needed, the entire group followed Jason down the street, running and running and not stopping. Suddenly, all three teenagers were very grateful for the stamina exercises Donna had forced them to go through on Saturday.

"That's not going to stop them for long," Jason noted grimly as they continued their escape. "We need an alternate plan of attack."

Cissie shivered. "How are we supposed to stop a legion of invincible assassins!"

"They're not invincible," Jason corrected her.

"Are you suggesting—?" Tim started, only to be cut off by a throwing knife that he just barely managed to dodge. Cass caught the knife mid-air and tossed it back, catching one of the Talons in the leg.

"No," Jason refuted. "They have another weakness. Extremely cold temperatures. Like, below freezing. Once they're hit with a blast of that, they'll be rendered completely inert, like puppets with cut strings."

Dick activated his comm, changing the frequency to Oracle's private one. "O, this is Nightwing. I need you to find the nearest building with building-wide refrigeration capabilities."

" _Hunk Wonder, this isn't really the best time—_ "

"O, we're currently being chased down by an _army_ of undead assassins. I need an address _yesterday_."

There was a beat. Then…

" _...Three blocks down to the right. Tolero Street. There's an abandoned meat-packing facility. It should still have working air conditioner units._ "

"Thanks, O." Dick turned the comm off, and glanced at the elder of his two younger brothers. "You heard her?"

"I did. Where's Tolero Street?"

* * *

"Okay," Jason said as they finished barricading the doors and windows. "This is what we're going to do." He flicked open another compartment of his utility belt and brought out three canisters and slip of paper, before taking his younger brother's hand and clasping it around them. "These contain a variation of Mr. Freeze's Freeze Gas. You're going to rewire each of those air-conditioning units to release this into the building when the Talons are inside. The paper has instructions on how to rewire the units."

"What?" Tim looked terrified. "But—But—I can't do that! I'm not an air conditioner repairman!"

"I would do it myself, but I would better serve keeping the Talons off your back. Nobody here knows how to fight them better than me. Meanwhile, you have the best technical expertise of _anyone_ here, Robin," Jason told him seriously, clasping his shoulders. "If anyone can get those things working, it's you."

He glanced at the girls. "Arrowette, Batgirl, you're going to guard him. Keep the heat off him and the units, throw any Talons you fight back into the building. Nightwing and I are going to stay in here and make a stand, and hopefully, keep most of them here."

"What makes you think the bulk of them will come after you?" Cissie asked, stepping forward.

Jason stared at her, before looking back at Dick. His oldest brother had his arms crossed, and he was bouncing off his heels. "It's not me they're after," he said instead.

Everyone followed his line of sight. Dick blinked, and pointed to himself. "Me? But…why?"

Jason swallowed. "I'll explain after I'm sure we'll live to see the morning. But right now, we need to work fast." He turned back to the teenagers. "You three go to the back of the facility. The very moment the Talons break down those doors, you escape through the back and scale to the roof. Find the units, repair them, funnel the gas through them. Understand?"

The teens nodded furiously.

"Good. Go."

As they fled towards the back doors, Jason stepped back so he was side-by-side with Dick and drew his other stick, configuring that one into a sword as well. "You and I, we stand our ground here. They should focus on us, but if not, then none of the ones that come in here are allowed to get past us."

"Right," Dick exhaled. "Right." He looked at his brother gratefully. "I know it sent your field trip to hell and all, but I'm glad you're here. There's no way I would've been able to handle, well—any of this. At least not as well as you are right now. Not without help."

"It's fine, N. Better to have a ruined field trip than a dead or kidnapped brother."

Before they could continue the conversation, there was a loud _slam!_ and the sound of the doors rattling. Both brothers immediately snapped to attention, and readied themselves for battle. The rattling grew worse and worse and then…

All hell was unleashed.

* * *

"That's the signal!" Cissie hissed, spotting the doors opening and the pouring in of dozens of Talons. "Go, go!"

Tim didn't need to be told twice. He immediately burst through the back doors, Cissie and Cass both flanking him. Together, the three immediately drew out their grappling hooks and zipped up to the roof. The moment they landed, Tim darted towards the nearest air conditioning immediately, while the girls covered his back.

He took out one of the tools in his utility belt, a kind of skeleton key-screwdriver hybrid, and removed the back panel. Tim stared at the mass of wires and components, both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, and then took a deep breath. _Focus, Tim. Focus. You're family is counting on you._

With that resolve, he got to work. He already memorized the instructions Jason had given him before the Talons arrived. Nonetheless, he gave them another quick read through before he started the rewiring. Once he was done, he got to work.

While Tim was in the zone, Cass and Cissie were keeping a watch out. There had been no Talons so far, but that didn't mean anything. They had managed to hide from Jason's sensors, so hiding from two girls who had no access to such advanced technology would be easy.

Five minutes passed, and still no Talons appeared. Still, they remained on edge.

"Done," Tim suddenly said, finishing putting the panel back on. "Let's move on to the next one."

* * *

"Nightwing, down!"

Dick ducked and watched as his brother bull-rushed a Talon that had just been about to stab him in the back. As he did so, he took the opportunity to sweep the legs of another Talon and electrocute him with his remaining stick. The other one had been forcibly lodged into the chest of a Talon Dick had long since lost sight of. It was still better than Jason, who had lost both his weapons _and_ had run through all his projectiles and had thus been reduced to pure hand-to-hand.

Jason tossed the Talon into a nearby piece of machinery before kneeing him into it. As the Talon was sparking, his HUD lit up and he whipped around, swiping at another Talon and sending her spiraling into a powerful kick to the jaw by Dick. Dick used the leverage to flip over and toss two Wing-a-Ding's into the eyes of another two Talons. He then landed on the shoulders of another Talon, and promptly twisted his neck.

_You won't kill them_. Jason's voice echoed his mind. Dick banished it away, and focused back on the fight.

* * *

"Okay, last one. Now that I know what I'm doing I'm going to try and go as quickly as possible," Tim said as he removed the panel from the last air conditioning unit.

"Just do it right, Tim," Cissie told him, bow still taut and ready to fire at the slightest movement. "It doesn't matter how quickly you go if you don't do it right. I'm sure they can hold out until then."

Cass nodded in agreement, only for her head to snap to the right. Cissie noticed immediately and she pulled her arrow back just a little more. When the Talon darted out of the shadows, she quickly shot three arrows at three different vital areas. It wouldn't kill them like it would a normal person, but it would certainly immobilize them, especially with her impromptu partner rushing forward and pushing them further in like a pincushion.

The back of Cissie's neck pricked. She turned around and spotted another Talon towards a still-working Tim. Before she could shoot, Cass charged over with a silent scream and tackled the Talon, wrestling him to the ground. Cissie looked back at the other Talon, the one she had shot, and saw in horror he was already removing the arrows from his body. She reached back to shoot him with some more, only to reach air.

Making a split-second decision, she ran and swung her bow, cracking it against the head of the Talon. Cissie then took one of the discarded arrows and started stabbing his eyes. Then the chest. Then the legs. The wounds were healing, but with her entire weight bearing down on him combined with the constant wounds, he was subdued for now.

"Gah!"

Both girls turned in horror to see that another Talon, one that had probably been waiting in the wings, had managed to grab Tim from behind and was now choking the life out of him. Cissie moved to help but a clawed hand roughly grabbed her forearm. She looked back to see it was the Talon she had been trying to restrain.

She tried to kick him off, but his grip was strong. Cissie glanced back again, and saw both Cass _and_ Tim struggling with their respective Talons. In particular, one looked ready to slit the third Robin's throat.

Then, in a move that Cissie could almost swear was superhuman, Tim hitched himself forward, striking the kneecaps of the Talon with both his feet and tossing him ass-over-teakettle. He landed on top of the air conditioner unit, but before he could retaliate Tim took one of the canisters Jason had given him and sprayed the Talon with it. The Freeze Gas cooled the Talon's body temperature instantly, causing him to fall to the surface of the rooftop, limp.

The other Talons stilled upon seeing this, clearly not expecting one of their to be taken down like that. Their opponents were not, and quickly took advantage: Cissie twisted her arm out of her Talon's group and threw him over to Tim with all her deceptive might, and he sprayed him as well. As that Talon collapsed, Cass had wrestled her own Talon away, giving one last powerful kick that left him stumbling into the waiting arctic embrace.

The moment that last Talon was done, Tim rushed back to the air conditioner unit, connecting the canister and all the necessary wires. Then, "Done. Let's hope to God and whatever divine power out there that this works." He thrust his fist forward, and two wires shot from beneath a hidden compartment in his gloves and attached themselves to the unit.

Tim inhaled one last breath, and turned on the power.

* * *

"Okay, okay, this is…not good," Dick huffed as he and Jason stood back-to-back, facing off against the surrounding army of Talons. Many of them were already fully-regenerated from the injuries that had been incurred to them throughout the brawl. Meanwhile, Jason and Dick were not so lucky.

"Okay, I've got an idea. It's not a really good one, but we're running out of options that don't involve murder. I can remove my helmet, rig it to explode—"

"Wait," Dick cut in, looking parts horrified and fascinated as he glanced back at his brother. "Your _helmet_ can explode?"

"Only if I arm it!" Jason quickly defended himself.

"That's not the issu—!"

"We're about to be kill—!"

_BUMP!_

Everyone stared at the now-prone Talon lying on the floor.

Then another Talon dropped. And another. After the fifth, Jason relaxed his shoulders. "Okay. No exploding helmet after all."

Dick glared at him. "This is not over. I'm telling B next time I see him."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Jason's shoulders straightened. "On a more serious note, we need to figure out what to do with these guys. There's no way Blackgate can hold them, and Arkham is _not_ an option."

"Why?" Dick looked confused and suspicious.

"I'll explain later. Let's just say that if these guys are imprisoned in Arkham, we'll literally be handing them back to their handlers and it'll solve nothing." The lens of Jason's helmet lit up. "If it's fine with you, I can make another call. Someone who can make sure these guys can't get out until we can figure out a more permanent solution."

Dick sighed and made a defeated motion, idly stepping to the side to dodge another falling Talon. "Call whoever you want. After tonight, I'm done."

Jason shrugged. "Don't blame you. Arrowette was right. This really was the worst field trip ever."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, wasn't that a plot twist?
> 
> If you're wondering who Raptor is, he's from Tim Seeley's run on Nightwing (Rebirth). A really underrated run in my opinion. Raptor was Dick's arch-enemy during that run, and one of my favorite DC antagonists in recent years. He'll play a serious role in this story in later on.
> 
> If you're wondering why Jason didn't use the Balance to form the forcefield, it's because it was just a missile and some debris. Kyle Rayner's blasts are _much_ stronger than that.
> 
> Next chapter: A new web to untangle.


	32. Splinter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason has another series of revelations, but then faces his own derail.

_RING!_

_Ignore it._

_RING!_

_Ignore it._

_RING!_

_Ignore—_

"Kon!" Bart's very annoyed voice broke through. "Pick up your damn phone!"

Kon grumbled, sitting up and rubbing one of his eyes as he slapped around the side table next to his hotel bed. He felt the familiar form of his phone and tapped it, activating the screen. He tapped on the 'ACCEPT CALL' button, probably a little bit harder than he should have.

"What is it, Jay?" The clone bit out sharply. "Do you have any ide—"

" _My group and I just got attacked by an army of Talons._ "

Kon stared. "…What?"

" _I need you to get to Bludhaven_ now, _Kon._ "

* * *

"Okay, so Kon's handling securing the Talons and transferring them to the Fortress of Solitude. He's already cleared it with Clark," Jason explained as he finished setting up the anti-espionage equipment in Dick's apartment. "That just leaves contacting B and telling him what happened and figuring out where to go from there."

"Wait," Cissie stopped him before he could continue, "before we do that, you need to explain who that Raptor guy was, and who these Talons are. We nearly died against these guys, Jason. We deserve that much."

Jason stared at her, before nodding. "You do. All of you do." He gestured to the couch. "Sit down, please. You're not going to want to be standing when you here this. It's a long story."

The other four people in the room exchanged looks, before following his instructions. They had all long since divested themselves of their masks, leaving them just in their body suits. Weapons had been stacked on Dick's kitchen table, along with the medical supplies. While no one had suffered any major injuries, there were still plenty of cuts and bruises to go around.

"First things first," Jason said, having dragged one of the chairs of the kitchen table over to have a seat himself. "Raptor. He's the easy one. He's Mary Grayson's stalker."

" _What._ " Dick looked half-horrified, half-enraged.

"Yup," Jason nodded. "He was you mom's stalker, and then after she died, _your_ stalker. And before you ask, not only did you investigate and write up the file on him after your first encounter with him, you told all of this to me after he started screwing with us during your tenure as Batman, so yes, I'm fairly certain it's accurate. That's how he knew who we were — he figured it out the same way Tim did."

Tim blinked. "The quadruple flip?"

"Yeah. It's like you said — very distinctive. And considering this guy has been watching Dickie and his family flip around way longer than you have…" Jason shrugged. "You're smart Tim. Brilliant. But that doesn't change the fact that you were only nine when you figured it out. And if a nine year old who only saw Dick once could figure it out, then for an adult man that's been watching his family since before he was even conceived, it would be as simple as one, two, three."

"Whatever. He knows. What I want to know is why is he so obsessed with my family?" Dick demanded, incensed.

Jason held up a finger. "Dick, it's not your family he's obsessed with, it's your mother. And with her gone, you are the only piece of her left in this world. And as for why…" He sighed. "Raptor was a poor member of Paris' Romani community, who was further ostracized after he contracted leprosy."

The teens winced. Dick looked unmoved, stony.

"Your mom was the only one to see past that and befriend him. Together, they stole the medicine needed to treat his leprosy, and then kept stealing from the wealthy Parisian elite and giving to the poor," Jason shrugged again. "You know, like Robin Hood. Then your mom met your dad and joined Haley's Circus, and Raptor continued following her, watching her. Your dad obviously hated it, but she said he was harmless. She even named you after him."

"Wait, seriously?" Cissie sounded surprised.

"You did hear me call him Richard, right?" Jason deadpanned.

Dick ignored the byplay. "And now? What happened after my parents died?"

Jason let out another sigh. "He was planning to steal you away," he answered bluntly. "Steal you away and teach you all about being Robin Hood like Mary and him. But Bruce adopted you first, and he never got over it. Especially since Bruce was so representative of the 'Parisian elite' that Mary and Raptor hated so much. That's why he's so obsessed with you. He's been planning to ingratiate himself to you, unteach everything Bruce taught you — and, if failing that, destroy you."

Dick scoffed. "Let him try," he dared.

"Oh, he will." Jason inhaled a small breath. "Be careful with this enemy, Dick. Please. You think Blockbuster's bad? This one's worse. He's not held back by profit margins or greed, or any of those easy pressure points that keep the usual scumbags in line. He's driven by a twisted morality and has no real code, and he's clever enough and skilled enough to cause a lot of problems. What we saw in that warehouse should be proof enough. The Talons might have killed all those people, but there's no doubt Raptor was directing traffic."

His older brother frowned and crossed his arms. "I understand your concern, Jason. And I promise I'll be careful. But this guy willingly started a gang war in _my_ city. There's no way I'm going to let this go."

"I know. I would never ask that of you." Jason exhaled another breath. "Any more questions about Raptor?"

He got four shakes.

"Good. Onto the Talons." Despite that, however, Jason stopped. He hesitated, before releasing another sign and leaning back into his chair, a hand over his eyes. "God. I didn't expect to talk to you guys about this so soon."

Dick frowned even harder. "Jay, what is it?"

Instead of answering, Jason slowly sat up, and glanced at Tim. "Tim. You're the only other native Gothamite here besides me. So let me ask you this question: did anyone of your life, whether it be your parents or caretakers or even friends, speak to you about a nursery rhyme that spoke of 'The Talon'?"

Tim's jaw dropped slightly at the question, before he pursed his lips and took a moment to think. "I…think so? A friend in Brentwood, he mentioned something to me during science class. We were studying birds, and he started humming this nursery rhyme and some of the class sang along. Something about…owls?"

Jason sighed again. It was going to be one of those 'sigh a lot' nights. " _Beware The Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadow perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them or they'll send The Talon for your head,_ " he intoned, catching everyone by surprise.

"Yeah, that's it!" Tim confirmed, then blinked. "Are you saying…?"

"That the Court of Owls is real? Yes," Jason admitted bluntly, stunning everyone. "The Court is a secret society made of several members of Gotham's wealthy elite. They've been controlling Gotham from the shadows for over four hundred years, using the Talon — their personal elite assassin — to silence any that would expose their existence or prove to be a problem for their goals."

"Wait a minute — from what you're saying, they only usually have one Talon at any point in time," Cissie leaned back into her seat. "How did they manage to send an army after us?"

Jason rubbed his arm. "Well, that's not exactly accurate. They usually have a handful of trainees, all potential Talons competing for the post. Usually collected from the slums of Gotham and…other sources." He's flickered to Dick for a split-second, but no one seemed to notice. "Once a Talon needs to be decommissioned, they take the most promising of the candidates to the Labyrinth, an underground maze that serves as one of their major strongholds, to face the current-serving Talon in combat. If the Talon wins, they continue to serve. If they lose, then the candidate takes their place, and both the Talon and the other candidates are…decommissioned."

"De-com-ishoned?" Cass sounded out the word.

Jason gave a short, solemn nod. "See, every Talon is enhanced. They're modified, imbued with a powerful element called Electrum via an implanted tooth. This Electrum is composed of another element called Dionesium, which is in both the Lazarus Pits and in the meteor that Vandal Savage slept under that granted him his immortality."

"Hence their powerful healing factor and regenerative abilities," Tim said slowly, following along.

"Yes," Jason confirmed. "This healing factor allows them to be put into a stasis until the Court needs them and their services again. They're stored beneath the catacombs of Gotham, left there until the Court needs them again. When they are, they're revived and sent on whatever task the Court requires of them."

"Okay, so secret society of rich people that have superpowered assassins. Been ruling Gotham for centuries." Dick inhaled a deep breath. "Why did you think they were after me?"

Jason swallowed.

"Jason?"

"Let me say this first," Jason started, looking unnaturally pale. "The only reason I waited this long to tell you, is because I wanted to protect you. Both in the literal sense, and the emotional sense."

"I don't like the sound of that, little wing," Dick commented, while the teenagers exchanged another round of looks. "Let me guess: they wanted me as one of their Talons?"

That got another round of stares. Jason only closed his eyes.

"What?" Dick threw his hands up. "It was obvious! Why else would they want me? I'm not rich like them, at least not in the conventional sense, and if they wanted another pal to throw money around with they would've just gone after Bruce. Let me guess: they figured out I was Robin like Raptor did and decided I'd make a good candidate for their next pet assassin?"

"No."

And now the attention was back on Jason. Dick blinked. "Seriously? That's not how it happened?"

Jason sighed again and stood up, turning around and walking about the apartment. He didn't want to see Dick's face for this. "About a century or so back, there was a man named William Cobb, who was born in Gotham. When he was young, his father was killed helping build the Gotham Bridge for Cameron Kane. Left destitute, he and his mother were forced to work in order to make ends meet. His mother was employed by a textile plant, while he…entered a certain profession. He was so talented in that profession that he was eventually offered a job that allowed him to evolve his skills to even greater heights. Eventually, his skills became renowned across the country, and he became a household name for a time."

"Eventually, he returned to Gotham amongst cheering crowds, and stayed there. And it was there he committed his greatest sin, the mistake that caused his downfall." Jason rolled his shoulders. "He fell in love with the wrong girl. A woman named Amelia Crowne."

Tim made a strangled noise. "Amelia _Crowne_? Of the Crowne family of Gotham? The extinct First Family?"

"Yes." Jason took another deep breath. "In fact, the Crowne's downfall directly ties into this. Cobb fell in love with Amelia, and she him. They were so in love they were planning to get married. But Amelia's father, Burton Crowne, the then-head of the Crowne Family, was a classist bastard, disapproved of the match, and banned Cobb from ever seeing her again. Both were devastated, and Amelia later committed suicide, which proved to be the death knell of the Crowne Family. She was their last heir, and with her gone, the family died out soon after."

"And then Cobb was scooped up the Court of Owls to be their new Talon," Tim concluded. When Jason didn't deny it, he continued. "This is sad and tragic and all, but what does this have to do with the Court's obsession with Dick?"

Jason rubbed his head, and finally glanced back at the group. "Because, before Amelia died, she gave birth to a child. A son. Cobb's son." He hesitated. "Dick's grandfather."

A beat.

"You're _kidding_ ," Dick accused him, eyes wide as he shot to his feet.

Jason shook his head. "We captured Cobb at one point. Bruce did a DNA analysis, and that's how we found out about your biological connection to him. You're his great-grandson."

"But how is that possible? You said yourself the Crowne family died out! If my grandfather was a Crowne, had grown up in Gotham—"

"—you would've never been born, I know. But your grandfather did not grow up in Gotham, as you well know. He grew up…" Jason trailed off, then closed his eyes and buried his face into his hands.

Dick swallowed. Now he knew for _sure_ that something was wrong. "Jay? Little wing? If you don't want to say—"

"No, no." Jason inhaled another breath, lifting his head to make eye contact with Dick. "No. You need to know."

Upon hearing that, Dick fell silent, giving a nod to show he was listening.

Jason stepped forward, making sure that Dick's gaze was entirely on him, that he could see the truth on his face. "The Court recruits its Talon candidates from several sources. The gutters of Gotham. Particularly exceptional middle class children. Vulnerable immigrants. Even human trafficking. But their most successful source, the one where most of their official Talons come from…is a circus." He met Dick's eyes again. "Haley's Circus."

For a moment, Dick was completely still. There was no reaction at all, a contrast to the shock and horrified looks of the girls and _especially_ Tim. And then…

"You're lying."

Jason closed his eyes again. "Dick…"

"No. You're lying." Dick stepped forward, an expression of silent fury on his face. "You're saying… you're saying that my home, my first _real_ home, is a factory for murderers. That my life, my _entire_ life, is a complete lie." He shook his head. "No. You're lying."

Another sigh. Then… "Cobb stole your grandfather away from your great-grandmother, and handed him to the then-Mr. Haley at the time, Nathaniel, to train. The loss of Cobb and her son is what drove her to suicide, and the Court granted Cobb the 'privilege' of killing Burton and ending the Crownes for good. And as for Cobb's son, the Gray Son of Gotham, he grew up in Haley's Circus, and started the greatest family of acrobats in the world — the Flying Graysons."

Dick's nostrils flared. "Stop. Lying."

"At first, the Court ignored the Graysons. They were skilled acrobats at first, yes, but it took too long for them to reach their prime and they still had other perfectly decent Talon candidates to pick from. But over a decade ago, their current Talon was beginning to grow sloppy—"

"I said _stop! STOP! LYING!_ " Dick shrieked. Luckily, Jason's anti-espionage equipment included soundproofing. No one outside the apartment would hear them.

Jason fell silent for a moment, but the steely expression on his face showed he wasn't cowed. "Their current Talon was beginning to grow sloppy," he repeated, "and they decided they needed a new one. So they looked at Haley's Circus—"

"No…"

"—And they saw you," Jason plowed on. "Probably the most talented acrobat to be born in generations."

"No!"

"And they decided they wanted you as their new Talon—"

"NO!" Dick shouted, shoving Jason back. Jason caught himself, but it wasn't enough to stop Dick from trying to punch him. Jason grabbed the blow before it could land, gripping Dick's wrist tight.

"Dick—"

"No, no, no nononoNO!" There were tears in Dick's eyes as he clutched at Jason's suit. "YOU'RE LYING!"

"You know I'm not."

That was it.

Dick collapsed to his knees, dry-heaving. Jason kneeled down on one knee, pulling him into a hug. From above his brother's shoulder, he gave a look to the concerned teenagers, silently ordering them to remain seated.

"…Was it them?" Dick asked, sounding very small. "Did they…" He couldn't even finish the question.

"Yes. Zucco… Zucco was just a means to an end."

"…And it was to get to me."

"…Yes."

The first Robin burst into sobs.

* * *

It took several minutes for Dick to calm down. Eventually, he was settled back into his seat on the couch, both of his youngest siblings present saddled up next to him, hugging him for comfort. Cissie looked distinctly uncomfortable, suddenly realizing that she was intruding in on a family moment, but calmed down when Jason brought up another chair next to his and patted it expectantly. She quickly transferred seats, and leaned back and watched.

"So," Tim started, catching everyone's attention. "The Court of Owls murdered the Flying Graysons to get to Dick. If they were willing to go that far to snatch him… why didn't they?"

"The same reason Raptor didn't," Jason answered, crossing his arms. "Bruce."

"The adoption," Dick said, looking very exhausted. "It was too public. They couldn't afford to snatch me without drawing attention."

"And with Richie Wayne dominating the society pages even more than dear old Brucie, he was completely out of their reach. So Haley's gave them another candidate: Raymond McCreary."

Dick's head snapped up. "Ray? He's currently training with the Court?"

"Yeah, but he's going to wash out soon. He's not up to standard." Jason paused. "Plus, he also hates you because the only reason he was sold to the Court was because they couldn't get to you."

"Wonderful," Dick sighed. "Just wonderful."

"You're the best, Dickie. Charming, clever, handsome, and without a doubt the _greatest_ acrobat in the world."

Despite the mood, Dick couldn't help but blush compliment. "Jay, that's nice of you and all, but—"

Jason cut him off before he could finish. "Dick, you can perform a quadruple flip," He stated bluntly. "The number of acrobats in the world that can do that can be counted on one hand. And _you_ were able to do it before you were even a preteen." Jason leaned back into his chair, looking completely and utterly serious. "It's not a compliment, it's not hyperbole: you are, without question, the greatest acrobat in the world."

Dick fell silent. He obviously didn't know what to say to that.

"Right. As I was saying, you're the best, and that breeds both resentment and obsession. The Court is proof enough of that." Jason rubbed the bridge of his nose. "In the last timeline… universe, whatever, they never really let go of their obsession of making you their Talon, especially after McCreary washed out on them. They just kept going back to old Talons, including Cobb, instead of recruiting new candidates because they were so intent on the next one being you. I don't believe that's any different here."

"That's why you didn't tell me — you were scared that if I knew the truth, I'd go after them on my own," Dick summed up succinctly.

"So you decided you'd go after them yourself," Tim continued, sounding disturbingly neutral, which, coming from him, might as well be critical. "The return gala. _Your_ return gala. You went around schmoozing with all those rich people, and you had Damian at your hip, showing him off." He moved away from Dick to stare hard at Jason. "It didn't make sense at the time. I thought it was just a WE thing, maybe collecting some gossip and intel for B, and of course promote the Foundation, but no — it was to catch the Court's attention, wasn't it?"

"It was," Jason admitted. "When we took the Court down last time, it Dick and you who ran point, but it took years of intel gathering and manipulation, and really, a lot of dumb luck, to take them down while dealing with everything else we had to deal with. And even then, there were losses. Kate and Renee died, Bette retired permanently. And…" He sighed. "They even managed to take Dick at one point. Brainwash him and turn him into their Talon. We barely managed to get him back and cure him of the condition."

"So you decided to risk yourself instead," Tim intoned, not sounding very impressed.

Jason clicked his teeth. "Tim…"

"Why didn't you bring us in?" His younger brother demanded. "Why didn't you trust us? I can understand Dick, he's too close and he has own city to watch, but what about me? You could have at least told me! I could have helped you!"

"And what could have you done, Tim?" Jason shot back. "Sniff around at school? Ask questions and caught the Court's attention and gotten yourself killed like Stephanie's father did?"

Dick perked up, blinking, while Tim paled. "Wait, Cluemaster figured it out?"

"He did. Just because he's incompetent doesn't mean he isn't _smart_ ," Jason pointed out, sounding rather annoyed. "The man is considered a diet Riddler, and trust me, the Riddler would've figured out the Court _ages_ ago if he wasn't so freaking obsessed with his riddles and with Batman, like every other major rogue in Gotham. All Cluemaster had to do was 'follow the clues' as he called it. He found the Court, and to save his skin, sold a pitch to them for their support in his own takeover plan for Gotham." He shrugged. "Unfortunately for him, before it could even get off the ground a girl stumbled onto a meeting he was having with his partners, and snitched it to Steph, who was Batgirl by that point. She found him, beat the crap out of him and his pals, and then sent them off to Blackgate — where they were all promptly killed in a prison riot a few weeks later."

"The Court's work," Cissie assumed.

"Yup. Make no mistake, I didn't want to hide it from you — any of you. But the Court is a wide-spanning organization that's got its grubby little talons everywhere in Gotham and has been around for _centuries_. I needed to be careful. _We_ needed to be careful. And that meant not tipping them off." Jason ran a hand through his hair. "Dick was too close. You, Tim, and you as well Cass, you're both too green. Damian obviously wasn't an option and still isn't."

"What about B and Alfred, though?" Dick asked.

"…I told them," Jason answered. "And Oracle. You're right, I needed help, and I knew they would've been able to compartmentalize enough to keep things in perspective."

"Wait, did the Court—?"

"No," Jason shook his head. "They did not kill Thomas and Martha Wayne. I can confirm that was just a random mugging. An act of fate."

"I don't know if that's a relief or not," Tim admitted honestly.

"Well, it is what it is. Back to the matter at hand, I told B, Alfred, and Oracle, and they've been helping me with the Court. Gathering intel, researching the history of Gotham, helping me prepare to infiltrate the organization." At their questioning looks, Jason gave a half-shrug. "I was trying to portray myself to the higher members of the Court as an ambitious social climber that was frustrated by Brucie and Richie's antics in besmirching the family name. It's easy to do when you're a relative unknown. From what I remember of the Court, many of its lower-level members are from recently-established minor lineages of about three generations or older, all desperate to climb the ladder."

He gave another shrug, and then a smirk. "A street rat adopted into the richest and most venerated family in Gotham didn't seem too out of place with that. And, well, you know what they say about how money talks. Having access to the Wayne Fortune, to Wayne Enterprises and all its resources? Doesn't matter if the blood isn't blue anymore, does it?"

"When were you planning on infiltrating them?" Tim asked after another moment of silence.

"Originally, whenever they came calling." Jason grimaced, and gestured to all of himself. "Then this happened and I had to go to ground. And considering the army of Talons after us and their obvious alliance with Raptor, who knows who I am — yeah, that infiltration isn't happening anymore."

Cissie frowned. "Speaking of that, that Raptor guy — he's supposed to be some kind of wannabe-Robin Hood, right? Why the hell is he working with the Court, then?"

"Most likely, the same reason he did in the last timeline," Jason explained, looking grim. "So he could betray them and deal a serious blow to their organization, if not take them down for good. The only problem with that is that I don't think he's going to care if innocents are in the way."

* * *

There weren't anymore questions after that, so Jason turned his attentions to setting up a projector in the middle of Dick's apartment so they could contact the Bat-Cave and the Clocktower simultaneously and directly. A consequence of Dick's more hamshack-approach to vigilantism since moving to Bludhaven is that he didn't have a setup to connect to either base, nor could he _afford_ to have one. He was, after all, headquartering himself in his own apartment building and went through great pains not to rely on Bruce for money so he could retain some form of independence.

"Considering that this is still a field trip, I guess I should do some lecturing while Jason gets that set up," Dick stated, standing up. He was…better than he was before, after Jason's latest slew of revelations, but he had lost a lot of his earlier cheer. He wasn't quite Bruce or even Jason, but he was certainly showing that you didn't have to be blood to share a relationship.

Speaking of blood… "Before you start on that," Tim cut in, "I just realized something — you're technically the last direct male descendant of the Crowne family."

Dick frowned. "How? My grandfather was the bastard child of its last daughter. That's a matrilineal line."

Tim shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Amelia never married Cobb, and Cobb, as far as we are aware, never legally claimed him as his son — hence why his last name was Grayson after he was adopted by Haley's Circus. Knowing Burton Crowne, he probably deliberately claimed him as a Crowne to hide his connection to Cobb. So, if your grandfather had never been kidnapped, he would've been a Crowne, probably their only male heir since Burton only had daughters and the others beside Amela either died or married out. That makes you a direct descendant, and technically, the heir to what remains of the Crowne Family fortune."

"What remains?" Cissie glanced at them both. "What happened to it? Didn't Burton Crowne donate it to some organization in his will after he died or something? You know, since he didn't have anyone left to give it to? It _was_ the age of philanthropy."

The current Robin snorted. "Yeah, but the Crownes weren't what you called the pinnacle of human morality. Finding out Dick is a direct descendant of them was surprising, yes, but what they did to Cobb?" Tim shook his head. "The Waynes, the Kanes, and the Eliots are doctors and soldiers. The Cobblepots, meanwhile, were crooks even before their last son became an _actual_ crook, and the Crownes were even bigger bastards than them."

He scowled. "Think of the most arrogant, classist, misogynistic, penny-pinching scrooge you can think of and multiply it by a hundred. _Those_ were the Crownes. Make no mistake — while they played a pivotal part in the founding of Gotham and have an occasional memorial paying homage to that, _nobody_ misses them."

Cissie flinched, but nonetheless looked intrigued. "So what does that mean about their fortune?"

"Well," Tim sighed, "A lot of it was splintered away to various relatives after Burton died, including the other First Families, but the bulk was kept in a trust in a secure account in a highly-secure bank located well outside of Gotham, only accessible to someone who can prove they are a direct male descendant of the Crowne Family. I wouldn't be surprised if it was set up that way because Burton was hoping to find his grandson one day and pass on the fortune to him, since he didn't have a son to pass it onto instead. It's been accumulating interest over the past century, and while it's probably a shadow of what it used to be if you factor in inflation, it's still a lot of money. Comparable to the older minor families, or even the major families. If Dick can prove he's that direct descendant—"

"—I can inherit everything," Dick finished. "But I can't, Tim. At least not until the Court is taken down."

Cass, who had largely remained silent since they returned to the apartment, tilted her head up at him. "Why? Could take long time."

"Because it's more than likely that the Court is aware I'm descended from Amelia Crowne. And since we have tangible proof that they may be aware of our identities…" Dick scowled. "It's too risky. We can't afford to signal to them how much we know. And… I have enough my plate already."

His sister continued to peer up at him. "You are conflicted," she observed.

Dick remained silent.

"Dick…" Tim hedged.

"I'm thinking of leaving the BPD. Of…quitting being a police officer."

Everyone stared at him. Even Jason had stopped working to look at him.

Dick inhaled deeply. "Jason, before you start, it's not your fault. I've been thinking about this for a while, and this crisis has only proven that it's for the best." He glanced at the kids. "Our brother brought you here to learn what it means to protect a city on your own. Well, here's the number one lesson you need to learn: prioritizing. Deciding what's more important to you — not to your friends, your family, your teammates or even your enemies, but _you_ — and weighing it against your dedication to the city you've decided to protect, and how you can best do that."

"But what does quitting your job—" Tim started, only for Dick to cut him off.

"I chose to become a cop, to join the BPD, because I want to do good in both my daily life, and my night life," Dick continued, as if Tim hadn't spoken at all. "I thought I could do more good like that. Be a cop during the day, eventually rise up the ranks, clean out the corruption in the system, while being Nightwing at night and clean out the corruption the system couldn't reach."

"But I can't. And you want to know why? _Because it's too much._ " He started pacing around. "I'm a cop for the BPD, with long shifts during the day and barely any time to rest at night, because I'm out at night patrolling as Nightwing. And I don't have days off, because my days off are spent in New York and the East Coast with the Titans, who I lead on missions all the time. And now, there's this." Dick found a nearby wall and leaned against. "Because of a backwards organization of rich assholes and my mom's stalker, my city is set to be plunged into a gang war that I have no chance of handling alone. I'm being run down as it is, and this — this will kill me if I don't unload something before it breaks me."

There was silence. And then, Jason started clapping.

"You are now officially the most sensible member of this family after Alfred and Cass," Jason announced. "Congratulations, Dickie."

Tim raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you the one who forcibly loaded your kids with work in order to force them to learn time management?"

"Aren't my teammates bitching about my workaholic tendencies and my kids drugging my food and drink to force me to rest proof enough that I don't always practice what I preach?" Jason replied sweetly.

"Jason!"

"Timmy, you'll understand when you've got kids of your own to raise and a bunch of responsibilities on top of that," Jason rolled his shoulders. "And that's after all the sacrifices _I_ made to accommodate all that." He stood up, and walked over to join the group. "Let me make this clear to all of you — this isn't just for superheroes. This is for _adulthood_. You're going to have goals and responsibilities, and there are certain wants that aren't going to corroborate with that. And _you_ — and not anyone else — are going have to decide which is more important."

All three of the teenagers swallowed.

"That's why I don't get why you're so eager to take on so much responsibility," Jason looked nostalgic and bittersweet, "You shouldn't be so eager to grow up."

No one said anything.

"Alright, enough with the lecturing." Jason clapped his hands. "We have a debrief to do. The projector is all set up, so let's contact Batman and Oracle."

* * *

Jason's projector, according to him, would project two screens: one of Oracle (using her famous, if mysterious, symbol in place of her actual face, since Cissie was still unaware of her true identity) and one of the Bat-Cave, with Batman, facilitated through a combination of the Bat-Computer's servers and Oracle's own vast systems. Tim questioned him about how it worked, and was completely and utterly fascinated by Jason's explanation (which he had claimed was 'limited' by future standards and would've been better explained by Wallace or Kon). The future, apparently, had advanced _greatly_ in terms of technology.

The conversation ceased after the connections were made and both screens were holographically projected into the air. Jason straightened his back. "Batman. Oracle."

" _Knight. I assume Nightwing, Robin, Black Bat, and Arrowette with you?_ " Bruce addressed them gruffly.

"Yes. Has Oracle told you what happened?"

" _She said you were being chased by an army of 'undead assassins' when she last spoke with Nightwing. Knight—_ "

"They know, Batman, Oracle," Jason interjected. "It's okay to talk about it openly."

" _…Very well,"_ Batman acknowledged. " _If that is the case, then there is something you need to know. The Vanavers are dead._ "

Someone could've heard a pin drop. "What?" Jason demanded, suddenly looking _very_ scared.

" _The Vanavers are dead,_ " Bruce repeated, sounding grim. " _Killed about ten to twelve hours ago by unknown assailants, down to the last child and including all of their present staff. They were found in their rooms by their housekeeper, who had gone home early but had returned when she realized she had forgotten something at their estate._ "

"Are you telling me that one of Gotham's five major families has been wiped out?" Tim asked, whiter than a sheet.

"It's worse than that, Tim," Jason told him, staring at the wall with a far-off look. "The Vanavers were the most powerful family in the Court. Samantha Vanaver is… _was_ the Grandmaster of the Court of Owls."

Dick's eyes were wide, and he put a hand to his forehead in disbelief. "You've _got_ to be kidding me…"

" _It's worse than you think_ ," Barbara's mechanized voice echoed through the speakers. " _The Vanavers weren't the only family killed. Approximately half the Court's membership was slaughtered throughout the city. The entire GCPD, along with Batman and the Birds of Prey, are currently investigating and combing the city for the perpetrators, whoever they might be. A city-wide order has been issued by the mayor, instructing that everyone follow the Joker Guidelines until the killers have been apprehended._ "

"And the other half?" Jason asked, urgent. "What about them?"

Batman growled. " _They've gone to ground. I had Spoiler investigate the list of the Court's membership from the data packet you gave me a couple days ago. She discovered that members of the Court and their families have been gradually leaving Gotham on international trips over the past three months, and_ none _of them have returned, or even scheduled themselves to return._ "

"So if half have been killed, and the other half have fled Gotham…" Dick started.

"…Then the Court's splintered," Tim finished, grimacing. "This was a coup."

Jason crossed his arms, and clicked his teeth. "Well then Dickie, it looks like you'll be getting your money after all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another plot twist. Really twisty, isn't it?
> 
> Well, this is the last finished chapter I had in queue. I delayed it because of the Inauguration, but now that is over, here it is. It'll be a while until I start uploading again.
> 
> Until then, I suggest either updating the TV Tropes page, re-reading some of my stories, or reading some of ArlyssTolero's Arrowverse stories, including the one I'm co-authoring currently on AO3 — _The Legend of the Green Arrow._ It's starting to get really good, and trust me, those of you that have been keeping up with it haven't seen _anything_ yet.
> 
> Next chapter: Goodbye, Bludhaven.


	33. An Errand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Bats decide their next course of action. 
> 
> Then, Superman asks for a favor.

"Okay. How did this happen?" Tim demanded, flopping back onto the couch. "Why did the Court splinter?"

Jason groaned, pinching his nose. "Probably the same reason they did the first time: power."

"Wait," Cissie interjected, looking confused, "the Court has splintered before?"

"Yes. When they were still ruled by the Founding Family: the Crownes."

Dick's head shot up. "What? Jay!"

Jason held his hands up in a calming gesture. "This time, Dickie, I honestly forgot. It didn't seem important considering that the Court was controlled by the Vanavers, just a useful tidbit of trivia that wasn't relevant in the long run, like last time."

"Jason," Cass said, crossing her arms.

The older man glanced at his sister, and sighed. "Fine. According to our research into the Court's history both during and after our conflicts with them in the previous timeline, the Crownes founded the Court as a way to undermine the other First Families, especially the Waynes. They brought the Vanavers into the Court to give it further legitimacy and to gain access to their resources. The Vanavers controlled the majority of Gotham's shipping industry," Jason explained to the confused Cissie, before continuing on, "and as Gotham grew, they only grew richer. Originally, the Crownes were able to match their growth, but after the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th Century hit, the Vanavers' star began to rise exponentially."

" _Let me guess,_ " Oracle said dryly, " _They decided they were sick of playing second string, like all the Major Families were with the First Families._ "

"Got it in one. The Vanavers started scheming to usurp control of the Court from the Crownes and saw their opportunity with Cobb, who had an axe to grind with the current Grandmaster. Cobb had already been pinged to be the next Talon by Nathaniel Haley due to his unrivaled knife-throwing skills. The Vanavers bribed Haley to get them a private meeting with Cobb before he began his training. They made him a deal — become the newest Talon, swear his loyalty to them, help them take control of the Court—"

"—and they'd let him kill Burton Crowne," Dick finished, turning around and kicking air. "And he took it."

"Is that another reason they wanted Nightwing as their Talon?" Tim asked his other brother, ignoring the existential crisis his oldest one was having. "To have the last direct descendant of the Crownes under their thumbs, as their personal slave?"

Jason gave a half-shrug. "Probably. Not the main reason, of course. The Vanavers wouldn't have rose to the top if they had made all their decisions according to their vanity, but it certainly sweetened the pot. And it would have allowed them to finally fully consolidate control of the Court, ensuring that their enemies wouldn't have another contender to back. That's the funny thing about organizations like this — as quick as they are to stab each other in the back at the slightest turn of fortune, their grudges tend to hold long and deep."

" _All fascinating, but irrelevant,_ " Batman interjected before more could be said on the subject. " _The real question we need to be asking is why the Court splintered again._ "

Tim tapped his chin. "Well, the departures began about three months ago, right? What happened three months ago that would've prompted such a response?"

Cass audibly tapped her foot, gathering everyone's attention. Then, she pointed at Jason, who quickly realized what she was trying to say and palmed his face. "Of course. That's when I killed Ra's al Ghul."

" _Which is also around the same time that Savage began his recruitment campaign for the attack a few weeks ago, according to our projections_ ," Oracle added.

"You think Savage tipped them off?" Cissie asked, leaning against the other side of the couch.

"Possibly. But not everything," Jason speculated, mind running a mile a minutes, "If he had told them everything, about our _real_ identities, then we would've been swamped with Talons the moment he told them and we would be having an entirely different conversation right now. No, he probably told them that the Bats knew they existed now, and about my time travel, and that they were made, and then made them an offer."

"An offer only half the Court accepted?" Dick sounded skeptical.

"Maybe. Either that, or he did some double dealing behind Samantha Vanaver's back. We all know he isn't above that."

"But what could he have possibly offered them to make them side with him?" Cissie questioned, rubbing one of her arms, "Taking you guys out? Couldn't they have tried that on their own with all those Talons? If they had just sent that army of yours while you were all at Wayne Manor—"

"—we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," Jason acknowledged. "You're right. It had to be something else. Something else that would give Savage enough leverage to convince them not to slaughter us before we could be a problem to their little reign over Gotham. And it's like I said before: power."

"But what power? They rule Gotham!"

"But not the world," Jason reminded her, lacing his hands together. "Tell me, what would've happened if the Talons had succeeded today? If they had managed to kill the five of us? And on top of that, say they had managed to kill Batman and Oracle too? What do you think would happen?"

Everyone else in the apartment exchanged looks. Batman and Oracle tellingly remained silent.

Jason continued on, uncaring that he didn't receive an answer. "My team alone would've ripped Bludhaven and Gotham to pieces to find those responsible and bring them to justice for my death. Don't think for one moment your teams wouldn't do the same for your own deaths. Each and every single one of them would've never stopped until every member of the Court was exposed and imprisoned — or worse."

His eyes narrowed. "It's like I said: they may rule Gotham, but they don't rule the world. Killing us would've just been a temporary victory. Savage must have promised them the power and influence to make it a permanent one."

" _And killing the Vanavers?_ " Bruce asked, sounding grim.

Jason shrugged. "Likely, he didn't want competition for control. The Vanavers weren't ones to capitulate to anyone, even someone as powerful as Savage. Savage probably wanted someone more…receptive to his input, so to speak."

"So, Savage now has an army of undead super-assassins at his beck and call," Tim summed up, looking understandably surly. "Wonderful."

" _We can discuss this further later_ ," Bruce interjected, sounding firm." _Right now, I need you all back in Gotham for this._ "

"Well, Robin and Batgirl will be heading back tomorrow—"

" _I mean you as well, Knight._ "

Jason pursed his lips. "I figured. Let me call Donna, tell her what's going on so the others don't panic."

" _And Nightwing—_ "

Dick shook his head. "I can't, B. With Blockbuster and all his lieutenants dead, it's only a matter of time before Bludhaven is plunged into a bloodbath. If you're taking Knight, Robin, and Batgirl along with Birds, then I'm going have to call in the Titans to deal with this."

" _…Very well. I understand._ "

Everyone stared at Bruce in surprise. He ignored it. " _Knight, Robin, Batgirl, I'll be expecting you in the afternoon tomorrow, where we'll discuss this further. If there's nothing else that's need to be said—_ "

"Wait!" Every eye turned to Cissie. "What about me?"

Jason sighed. "Well, Cissie, do you want to be a part of the investigation?"

"Do I have a choice?" Cissie countered. "The Court knows who I am because of Raptor. They saw me helping you."

"Point. B?"

Bruce observed Cissie for a long moment. " _I doubt the Court will target you directly. However, I will ask that you keep one of our communicators on you just in case they do. If this isn't over by the time the school year is, then you'll have to temporarily move into the Manor until they're dealt with._ "

"Or with us at Catskills. Which you'll likely have to do anyway once the summer camp starts — and yes, I know Tim told you," Jason added.

Cissie ruminated over it for a moment. "Okay. I can live with that."

" _Good. Knight will outfit you tomorrow. Batman out._ " The hologram flickered before dying away.

" _...I hate it when he does that,_ " Oracle commented, getting sounds of assent from everyone in the room. " _Though, has anyone noticed how much more reasonable he's been lately?_ "

"He's growing up," Jason suggested, shrugging. "We should be proud."

" _I guess so. Anyway, I better log off. I'll send you over the data packet about all the murders in Gotham tomorrow so you can look it over. Night._ " With that, her hologram dissipated too.

"Right then," Jason said, standing up and stretching his arms and legs. "Time to go to sleep. We'll head on back to the base tomorrow."

* * *

The following morning saw everyone waking up late, at 10 a.m. Dick had called in at his precinct for a day off, citing sickness, and it had just barely managed to past muster. Already he was planning on drawing his letter of resignation, uncaring of how suspicious it would look to have it tendered so soon after the resent warehouse explosion down in one of Bludhaven's derelict districts, which, per no one's surprise, had dominated the local news once morning hit. Inheriting the Crowne wealth would help smooth that over, make it seem like now that he had his own wealth, Richie Wayne no longer needed to sell the idea of his independence from his daddy to the public. It would…hurt, nuking the optimistic and dedicated reputation he had been cultivating on the Force, but Dick _knew_ this was the right choice. He'd be killing himself otherwise.

He had, of course, checked with Jason to see if it was possible for him to inherit the money, and Jason had confirmed it. Apparently, the Dick in the last timeline had been able to prove his identity and inherit the money in short order after the Court had been throughly decimated. In his will, Dick split it between charity and family after he died, which meant all of the portion he bequeathed to his siblings eventually went to Jason and Cass after Tim and Damian died as well. Since there wasn't a living Court member for miles within Gotham now, that meant that Dick was free to take the fortune for himself, which would help with funding his own operations in both Bludhaven and with the other Titans.

As the children started packing up their things in preparation for their trip back to the safehouse where the Super-Cycle was stored, Jason and Dick went upstairs to the roof and just surveyed the skyline of the city. There was still some smoldering from the explosion during last night's escapade, and one could hear the distant sounds of police sirens. Even now, the cops were still investigating, trying to figure out what, exactly, happened during those wee hours of the morning-night.

"It's so beautiful," Dick commented, eyes far-off. "It's hard to believe that it'll all be going to hell by tonight. You know, once the news breaks about Blockbuster."

"The worst part is always the waiting, as they say," Jason noted, leaning against the railing.

"Agreed."

There was another moment of silence.

"You're still thinking about Haley's, aren't you?"

Dick turned his head to look at him with a bitter smile. "That obvious, am I?"

"Only to the people who know you best," Jason admitted, smirking back. "I'm just one those lucky enough to count themselves on the list."

Dick chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you are."

Jason's smirk faded. "Bruce gave you the deed, didn't he?"

"A birthday gift for my eighteenth birthday," Dick confirmed, looking solemn. "Been wondering whether or not I should just tear it up into pieces and throw it into the fireplace."

"You don't have a fireplace."

"So?"

Jason eyed him for a moment. "It's still your childhood home, Dick."

"That serves as a front for human trafficking," Dick responded bluntly. "That sold one of my friends to a court of self-serving rich assholes just because they couldn't sell me. That let my parents be _murdered_ just so they could sell me. How am I suppose to reconcile with that, Jason?"

His brother nodded, conceding. "…The Court won't last forever, Dick."

"But that doesn't change the fact that this, all of this, has been happening long before I was born," Dick countered. "That _this_ is why I was born. I can't condone that, little brother."

"…No. I guess you can't." Jason crossed his arms. "So what are you going to do?"

"Haley's Circus will be rolling into Bludhaven within the next month or so. I can end the upcoming gang war long before they arrive with the help of the Titans." Dick steeled his expression. "When they're here, I'll meet Mr. Haley in private and demand answers."

Jason tilted his head. "And if you don't like what you hear?"

"Then the circus won't be called _Haley's_ Circus anymore." Dick turned back to the city, leaning forward over the railing and gripping it tightly with his hands. "I'll find some other family to play the part of Ringmaster. Someone that won't play ball with the Court and sell some other poor sap down the river to save their own hides."

"You're really mad about this."

Dick scoffed. "Wouldn't you be?"

Jason couldn't argue with that.

* * *

That afternoon, Cissie found herself the only student at Catskills base with Wallace, M'gann, and Kaldur for company as they waited for Kon and his group to arrive. They would've left Metropolis sooner, but Toyman had decided to wake the city up with a pair of Rock and Sock'em bots about the size of the Daily Planet, using the city limits as their boxing ring. It had taken most of the morning for both Supermen and the associated sidekicks to take them out with minimal casualties and property damage. Then there was the matter of capturing Toyman himself and sending him off to the authorities so he could be shipped off to Stryker's Island.

Technically, Cissie herself could have left already. The Bats had come and gone as quickly as possible, wanting to get started on the work waiting for them in Gotham before they lost the nerve. There was nothing keeping Cissie there from doing the same and heading home to enjoy her own spring break. However, she had elected to spend this year's break with Cassie and Greta, wanting to avoid spending it with her mother, and so decided to stay behind and head on over to Gateway City to the Sandsmark home with them instead.

She was watching an old cartoon on the television while the adults talked in the kitchen when the doors suddenly slammed open and her friends all stumbled in, somewhat tired and bedraggled. Bart went as far as to collapse onto the floor of the foyer, most likely for dramatics' sake.

Cissie, of course, was there to greet them at the doorway between the foyer and the living room. She rested her hand on her hip, cocking it along with her eyebrow. Dressed in her civvies, she looked mightily unimpressed. "Seriously, Bart?"

"Shut up," the boy muttered, his voice muffled by the carpet.

The archer sighed before glancing at the rest of her friends, all in various states of disarray. Even dear Greta looked paler and more worn than usual. "You all look like hell," Cissie stated bluntly.

"What Bart said," Courtney retorted weekly, using her staff as an impromptu cane. "From what we heard, it's not like your trip went any better."

Cissie shrugged. "Yeah. It was kind of horrible. 0 out of 10, would _not_ recommend, even if Nightwing was as nice to look at as ever."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," Kon commented as he walked besides the teenagers toward the kitchen, looking completely fine. Stupid Kryptonian genes.

The kids ignored him. "Being chased after by undead super-assassins was not fun," Cissie continued, shuddering.

"While that's nice and all Cissie," Cassie interjected before the conversation continued, "would you mind and help us get upstairs? We're kind of tired."

"Yeah, sure. Just remember that we need to head to your house by tonight after you wake up."

"Yeah, yeah…"

* * *

As a final gift, Kaldur had taken over the cooking in the absence of Jason, making some of his specialty pizzas. The original plan had been to pack up the leftovers and have the kids take them home, but with two speedsters present (including one that had been heavily exhausted by an entire morning of superheroing), it had been a non-starter. Instead, the food went quickly, and then the children were ready to go.

Thankfully, over the course of the week, the JLA had managed to rebuild enough of the Watchtower to use the teleporters again. That meant none of the adults had to take the team their respective homes on the Super-Cycle in-costume just for the sake of keeping their identities secret. Instead, they just had to wait around on while the Leaguer on monitor duty (in this case, a recently-reactivated John Stewart) teleported them to their respective coordinates.

"So, what are you guys going to be doing for your break?" Greta asked, in her corporeal form. As a gift for spring break, M'gann had gifted her a few of the mystical tags she had used on the warder and had taught Cassie how to use her innate magic to activate them so Greta could enjoy spring break as a normal girl. "Cassie, Cissie, and I are doing some shopping and a stay at an indoor water park for a couple of days. Probably with some superheroing in-between."

"County festival," Bart proudly announced, bumping his chest with one fist. "Going to enter the hot dog eating contest!"

Off to the side, Wallace snorted. M'gann elbowed him in the side.

Cissie shook her head. "Just remember to keep your speed in check, Bart."

"I'm heading over to the Brownstone for some further training," Courtney added, keeping the conversation on track. "Wildcat wants to give me some further pointers on my boxing. Then we're going to go on a couple of recruitment missions for the JSA, visit some legacies to see if they want to join." She shrugged. "One of them attends Harvard right now. I'm going under the guise of college tours."

"And Tim and Cass, of course, are already home, being run through the grinder." Cassie glanced at the adults, who were watching their conversation with amused expressions. "What about you guys?"

"Other than Themyscira to visit Kara?" Kon answered, shrugging. "Metropolis. Just because dear old 'daddy' is the President doesn't mean he isn't above causing trouble for my other dad. Not to mention, there's been this weird activity with Intergang going on that Clark and I need to investigate."

"What kind?" Greta asked curiously. "They causing trouble again?"

"That's just it," Kon said, looking speculative. "They _aren't_. They're being unnaturally quiet, which is a bit concerning. Clark wants my help in checking out their usual haunts as a civilian, see what's going on."

"And everyone else?" Cassie turned to other three adults.

"You already know where Jason is. Donna is hunting down some old enemies, including the Superman android that killed her last time. Kyle is still in space — last check-in, he and the other Lanterns were about to enter the Anti-Matter Universe and wreck Sinestro's would-be Central Battery. And as for the three of us," Wallace gestured to himself, Kaldur, and M'gann, "we've actually got a mission for the JLA."

"A mission?"

"It's more like an errand," Kaldur corrected. "See, the JSA isn't the only team expanding. The JLA are as well — they've already recalled several inactive members for active duty, including Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Hawkman. However, they've also want to invite a few new ones too. Coincidentally, we were planning to visit somewhere to invite some new students join all of you during the summer. So Superman asked us to extend the invitation while he was investigating things in Metropolis with Kon."

Bart tilted his head. "Where are you guys going?"

M'gann smiled. "Dakota City."

* * *

"Look man, I'm telling you — Rocket digs me!"

"Are you sure, Static? Considering how she ditched you at that concert—"

"That's because Icon had a fight going on! I'm telling you man, she was totally into me before that!"

Dakota City, Michigan. Just a stone's throw away from Detroit and often mistaken for it, up until a couple of years ago, it wasn't really any different from any other city in the country. It had its bright spots, including its thriving music industry and technology district (courtesy of the local corporation, Alva Industries), and its downsides, such as the urban segregation, social inequity, and the resulting rising gang activity. The same gang activity that led to the life-changing event for the city as a whole: the Big Bang.

The worst gang-related incident since the Dakota riots six years ago that left over a thousand casualties and close to two hundred dead, the Big Bang changed everything for the city. What would've been a burgeoning gang war turned into a nightmare as a tear gas canister struck and mixed with several canisters of Alva Industries' Quantum Vapor (later known as Big Bang gas or Bang Baby gas) and spread across the docks, exposing nearly all present to its mutating properties. All those exposed were mutated, but only a percentage were stabilized and later gained powers, becoming metahumans — or, as Dakota City knew them, _Bang Babies_. This phenomenon, through extensive testing, was later learned to be because these Bang Babies each contained a latent, if dormant metagene.

The Big Bang changed the face of crime in Dakota City forever. Normal crime, including gang-related activity, gradually decreased into non-existence as it was replaced by metahuman crime, reminiscent of other major cities such as Metropolis and Gotham. The police were left floundering as the former gang bangers took their acts to another level. It wasn't long before it became obvious that they were unable to keep with this new uptick in chaos.

Luckily, for every action is an equal and opposite reaction. New heroes came out of the woodwork to combat this soaring threat. One such duo was the team of Icon and Rocket, reminiscent of Superman and Superboy, or Batman and Robin — however, they soon started to focus on the more extraterrestrial threats that threatened Dakota. No, the primary deterrent to the Bang Baby threat were two Bang Babies themselves: Static and Gear.

Static appeared first, taking the city's younger population by storm with his easy confidence and witty repartee. He took longer to win over the older generation, but they warmed up to him eventually once he proved his intentions were noble, that he was nothing like the superpowered troublemakers that littered the streets. It wasn't long before he became one of Dakota's premier heroes, on the same level as beloved Icon.

About a year after his debut, however, Static added another player to his act: Gear. The young man's debut wasn't as bombastic as his friend and his powers were nowhere near as flashy, so most people didn't quite know what to think of him. However, he soon proved himself to be as equally dependable, using his super-intelligence to combat threats that sheer power and force could not and devising plans for the heroes of Dakota to use during particularly tricky situations.

It was for this reason that many weren't as enthusiastic they originally would've been when Doctor Donald Todd, the leading scientist of GenomaTech, announced they had found a cure for the Bang Baby crisis, an 'antidote' for Quantum Vapor. Secretly, they had sprayed this antidote everywhere in the city, across every visibile surface, infecting all the Bang Babies within the city limits. While this did the job of depowering most of the Bang Babies in Dakota, it also depowered Static and Gear, along with another prominent hero, Rubberband Man. An unnecessary punishment, one that Todd tried to defend with how the ends justified the means.

Of course, it backfired. The Bang Babies did not take their upcoming fate well and retaliated viciously. Ivan Evans, better known as Ebon, leader of the Meta-Breed and the most dangerous Bang Baby in the city led an attack on GenomaTech to procure the last known-existing canister of Bang Baby gas. Static and Gear tried to repel them, but with their weakening powers they had been unsuccessful in their endeavor. Ebon and the Meta-Breed escaped, and the crisis turned for the worse.

The two heroes tracked down their enemy to the docks, the site of the original Big Bang, where Ebon was holding court with the remaining Bang Babies in the city, those that still had some remnant of their powers. According to the newly-empowered Static and Gear, he intended start another Big Bang, one far grander than the last one, and had offered those present a chance to be at the epicenter of the destruction as long as they followed his orders in the aftermath. Things spiraled out of control as one of the Bang Babies, the infamous Hotstreak, double-crossed Ebon and tried to take the gas for himself, initiating an explosion that, while re-empowering Static and Gear, also turned the twosome into a two-headed monstrosity that would've caused immense devastation if let loose into the city.

The implications of the incident resounded even now. The city's initial intention to do a second round of antidote use was stymied by the possible reaction of the remaining Bang Babies, that many of them would be invigorated to follow Ebon and Hotstreak's footsteps for the sake of keeping their powers. Combined with legal implications of the initial actions, namely how it possibly infringed on the medical and even constitutional rights of the affected, and the new directive had been indefinitely delayed. In the interim, someone had managed to find a sample of Bang Baby gas and reverse engineer it, and were now supplying it to a network of drug dealers to sell on the streets.

On top of offering another avenue for the Bang Babies to regain their powers, it also offered a method for the other normal (and arguably more desperate) criminals to seek out a way to supplement themselves. After all, risking your life for the sake of surviving the transformation meant nothing when you had nothing else to lose. Once word got out, the drug ring became the top priority for all the heroes in the city, along with dealing with the resultant Bang Babies and their celebratory crime spree — only making it harder to find the source of the gas and to eliminate it, which was no doubt the intention of the suppliers to begin with.

"Okay," Richie Foley said, doing a small spin with his rocket boots, "if you're sure she's into you, you won't mind asking her out when we get to Icon's."

Virgil Hawkins shivered. "No way, man! I can't do that!"

"Why not? She digs you, right?" Richie grinned.

"Yeah, but I gotta play it _cool,_ you know? If I push too hard too soon, she might lose interest!"

"Is that what you told yourself when you decided you weren't going to ask out Daisy yet?"

His friend glared at him. "Low blow, man. Low blow."

The two heroes, done with their patrol for the day, arrived to their base: an abandoned gas station in the center of the city. After changing out of their superhero uniforms and back into their civvies, the two caught the nearest bus and chartered out a path to their next destination: the Freeman estate at Prospect Hills.

* * *

It took about an hour of travel to make it to Prospect Hills. In contrast to the rest of the city, the suburban Prospect Hills was cleaner and brighter, an ode to its name. With its manicured lawns and white picket fences, this was the place where the fortunate got married and had their 2.5 kids and a dog if they so wish. An object envy and a goal to achieve, it some ways it was fitting that the city's greatest hero resided there.

Virgil and Richie had been to Prospect Hills before, after a team-up between the two friends and Dakota's own dynamic duo prompted a sharing of secrets, including the greatest any hero had: secret identities. This proved to be fortuitous in the aftermath of Ebon's would-be Big Bang, after the Quantum Vapor drug ring began. Deeming the gas station unsecure, the four had taken to meeting at Augustus' estate instead to discuss the problem and share intel.

The moment they arrived to the Freeman estate, Richie pressed the doorbell. After a moment or so, they heard some rustling behind the door, and soon they saw the smiling face of Raquel Ervin. "Hey guys! Come on in!"

Both boys walked inside, observing the inside of Augustus' home. While it had a distinctly modern look, there was always hints of an older style architecture, resembling the Victorian trappings of the 1800s. Not entirely surprising, considering that Arnus of Terminus had landed on Earth during the advent of the Civil War and had been living among humans since. Many of the 'antiques' from that time that resided in his home were actually his own effects, acquired during his time as a slave and then a soldier fighting for the Union.

Augustus himself was sitting at his dining table, overlooking the copious amounts data they had collected over the last months after it was confirmed a drug ring had sprung up. It was drawn and compiled from programs written by Gear and his own alien technology, organized in a way that allowed them to see patterns more easily. They had been using it in conjunction with a full, detailed map of all of Dakota City to try and determine where, exactly, the supplier was located.

"Virgil, Richie," Augustus nodded, acknowledging both boys. "How was patrol?"

"It went well. Barely ran into any trouble," Virgil answered for both of them. "I guess after our last bust with all those dealers, all those wannabe Bang Babies are lying low."

Raquel frowned. "That won't last for long, though. We still got too many de-powered Bang Babies on the loose, many of whom have nothing to lose and everything to gain. They're not going to be scared off by a couple of busts."

"She's right," Richie agreed, glancing back at the map. "Any luck with the supplier?"

Augustus let out a noise of frustration. "None. Whoever this is, they are smart. All the dealers seemed to centered on Paris Island, but—"

_Ring!_

All four heroes.

"You're not expecting any visitors, are you?" Virgil asked nervously.

The older man shook his head, grim. "No."

Cautious, the teenagers congregated together as Augustus approached the door. He looked through the peephole, frowning, before opening the door. "Can I help you?" he asked.

On the other side, Kaldur smiled. "Augustus Freeman IV, yes? And is that Raquel Ervin, Virgil Hawkins, and Richard Foley behind you? It's nice to finally meet all of you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of the Bludhaven arc and the beginning of the Dakota City arc! I've been spending the last couple of weeks determining which arcs to do in-between helping ArlyssTolero with his _Forging a Better Future_ series (which I highly recommend!), and I've more-or-less finalized the list. I've planned out this arc already, and I'll plan out every other arc right before I write them, as always.
> 
> As you can see, I've based the Static portion off the DCAU version, as I never got the chance to read the original comics and I'm heavily familiar with the cartoon (it was one of my favorites growing up). So I've decided to use that version, which means bringing in Gear. I debated over whether I'd use She-Bang or Icon and Rocket, but decided on the latter since she'd bring a more distinct power set to the students. I've had to do some research on them since they only appeared towards the end of _Young Justice_ Season One, and I haven't had the chance to read Icon's comics either yet.
> 
> Note that this takes place a few months after the series finale for Static. Obviously, none of the DCAU crossover episodes happened, but other than that you can assume things went largely the same here as they did on the show.
> 
> Well, that's it for now. Remember to update the TV Tropes page, everyone!
> 
> Next chapter: The heroes meet.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Restart the Apocalypse](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26056471) by [AshWinterGray](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray)




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